None Stop Nineteen
by Ginny-Rose95
Summary: Stephanie has a pressing problem involving her love life and needs to disappear so she turns to her friend Connie and her mob affiliations to help her. Can she stay hidden until it passes? Or will one of her lovers follow her? Will an old enemy from her past find her instead? Can she choose between Ranger or Morelli? Will she get her happy ending or will it be none stop heartache?
1. Escape

I pulled into the parking lot of the new Vincent Plum's Bonds Office, gently idling my newly used Toyota Vista. It was beat up and had enough miles to have gone across the world, but it was cheap and working, and the dealer threw in a free can of gas and I was sold. Better yet, Ranger didn't know I'd switched cars from the Buick, which was still sitting in the parking lot of my apartment building, and it wasn't bugged. Ranger was born Ricardo Carlos Manoso, a second generation Cuban-American with Ivy-League intelligence and a street-savvy attitude. I met him a few years back when I started working at my cousin Vinnie's Bails Bonds business and our relationship had grown from there. Originally, he'd been my mentor but now he was a part-time lover and my best friend. The best friend part was useful but the lover part gave me hives. Especially considering the other man in my life, Joseph Morelli who works Vice for the Homicide department for the service men of Trenton.

Recently, the screwy relationship came to head in a fateful and definitely memorable fight in Hawaii which ended with me stun-gunning them, leaving them at a hospital and catching a midnight flight out of the state. That had finally cleared up but now I had a much worse problem on my hands and I didn't want either man to contact me until I had left town. Preferably the country but I didn't have enough money in my bank account for a trip to Tahiti. Which was why I was heading into the Bonds office. If anyone could help hide me from Ranger and Morelli, they would be in there.

Connie was at her newly installed desk, typing away at her brand new computer. Recently the Bonds Office blew in a targeted explosion and everything was replaced. Connie's desk was situated right in front of my cousin, Vinnie's office, which was good because then all the men that Vinnie's screwed have to get through her to shoot his dick off. And Connie knew how to blow a hole in someone with a semiautomatic without killing them. A trick, I supposed, she learned from her mob affiliated family.

"Why are you here?" I suppose the question could be rude but seeing as I never rolled into work until about ten and it was eight, I let it slide.

"I need a favor. I need your family to help me disappear?" One of Connie's perfectly plucked black eyebrows rose half an inch and she stopped her typing to stare at me incredulously.

"Honey, half the people living in the slums are willing to help you disappear, what the hell are you asking me for?" I paled at the thought and one hand instinctively went to my still flat stomach.

"Not permanently, just long enough to get away. I got a problem and I need time to solve it. Will you help?" I replied hastily, dropping my hand as quickly as possible. That was a mistake. Connie's heavily darkened eye immediately dropped to my stomach in suspicion.

"Oh Mother Mary and sweet Baby Jesus, you're knocked up aren't you?" Connie smiled widely and I blushed, giving away the secret I'd kept for the past few weeks. I was slightly irritated that she had found out the secret so fast seeing as I had taken pride out of telling no one, seeing as I had nearly passed out upon finding out myself. "When you gonna tell Morelli?" I paled at the thought of telling Morelli and hastily shook my head.

"With any luck, never." I didn't elaborate. There was no need in informing Connie that I hadn't been knocked up by Morelli. Connie seemed to catch something in my voice however, because her dark eyebrows disappeared somewhere in her five inches of teased up black hair and she gapped at me.

"Holy shit, Batman knocked you up?" I shushed her quickly as I looked around the room worriedly. I had little doubt that I would be able to sense Ranger's approach but Vinnie, Lula, or any of the various Rangeman employees could be around and if any of them were, I was dead. "He don't know?" Connie guessed, looking at me with slight sympathy.

I shook my head but didn't elaborate. It seemed awkward to explain my fears about telling Ranger I was pregnant. I couldn't explain them myself but I could probably pinpoint it to his adamant disapproval of commitment or perhaps that his only other child, a small eleven year old girl named Julie, had been held hostage by a crazy man just last year. Or the fact that being a mother scared the crap out of me and I was worried that I would be like Ranger's other ex-wife - married and then ceremoniously divorced after the child was born. Or that I didn't want mine and his relationship, no matter twisted it was, to be changed. So I had a bunch of reasons.

"So you need to disappear so neither will know? You know that's just a temporary solution right?" I nodded because sadly, no matter how much I wanted to skip to a new country, I'd have to return. My mother would only watch Rex for so long before she would give him up to an animal shelter. "Alright, you sit tight and I'll call up my cousin Leo. He likes you ever since we kidnapped that baby gangbanger, I'm sure he and my Uncle Vito will find a way to help you." I blushed at the memory of hiding a semi-illegally kidnapped gang member in Vinnie's summer cabin, but otherwise made no response.

Connie stepped outside to make the call and I sat in the faux leather couch that was normally reserved for Burg housewives there to bail out their misbehaving children. The thought of raising a child was frightening but telling Ranger that my birth control had lapsed during our tryst in Hawaii was even more so. I knew I would be back, or he'd find me but I just wanted a few weeks to myself. To get used to the idea and find a way to break the news to him. Maybe I'd call. If I called, I wouldn't have to see his disappointed face. That wouldn't stop his words from reaching me, but distance might make them hurt less. That's all I needed some distance. And a good drink, but that wasn't good for the Batbaby growing inside me so I'd have to part with those.

An hour and a few angry Italian remarks from Connie on the phone later, her cousin Leo was hanging outside the bails office, grinning at me. I'd gone to school with Leo and had always gotten along well enough with him.

"Knocked up by Ranger, eh?" he grinned. I blushed red and he shrugged. "Hey, don't worry about it. Things like this happen. Connie says you need some time to think it all over before you drop the bomb on your boy-toy. My dad Vito got some property in upstate New York. Real secluded. Normally we take up some old-shot Bookies and the like up there to take care of them, but dad says it's okay to live in it for a few weeks." I paled at the thought of staying in a house that the mob uses to take care of their problems, but smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, can we leave?" I must have looked nervous or perhaps he caught me as I tried to inconspicuously check around for any sleek black cars that were near enough to identify me because Leo laughed outright and led me to his car. A shiny new Buick. I wasn't surprised.

"After you my lady," he replied, opening the passenger door. I was surprised when Connie got into the car, swinging her leather purse beside me, instead of Leo.

"Girl's weekend," Connie explained with a grin. "I need a break from this place and what better excuse is there going be any time soon?" I nodded and waved politely towards Leo who was still grinning as we drove off. I closed my eyes briefly before opening them and nervously checking for a tail. No shiny black SUV's were following us and I couldn't identify any Porsches or personalized trucks, so I figured we were good and looked at Connie. She was singing off-key to the music, bobbing her head erratically as her four inch heels pushed the pedal to the floor. I smiled despite myself and began singing as well. Just a girl's weekend sounded about right. Even if there was three instead of two.

* * *

So originally I was going to hod off and wait a bit before I started a new story, but this nagged at me and I decided to write it down. It's not necessarily AU but more a continuation. My take on the nineteenth book, I guess. It's based off all the little hints Stephanie kept making about more pressing problems and worries. I figured it was another pregnancy scare (I can't remember if it was ever completely expressed) and decided to run off it. I tried to make it as close to how the books are written as possible and I hope you liked it. I'm not sure if I'll continue but probably. Please tell me what you thought and any ideas you might have that you want in the story. Thank you for reading!


	2. Realization

I had fallen asleep on route to New York, one week of nonexistent sleep taking its toll, but was roughly woken up. It took a minute for my groggy mind to come up with what had woken me. The music was low, the road smooth. Nothing outside could have woken me. As I thought that, the reason hit me and I fumbled for my phone in my newly debugged purse. Ten thirty, the clock blinked and I nearly sighed in relief. It was still plausible that I'd be in my apartment and as long as Ranger or Morelli didn't come in for a morning check, I was good for maybe half an hour longer. After that, I was free hunting for Ranger's merry men.

I bit my lip. I needed more time. It would take a few more hours to get to New York City and after that I was probably in the clear for a few days. Here I was still easy pickings. A loud shot of aggravated Italian roused me from my thoughts and I turned to Connie. She was brandishing her middle ginger to a small red car in front that must have cut us off. The old lady driving honked her horn in response and showed us some rather impressive Italian hand gestures. In Jersey, even the old ladies learned to be multilingual.

Connie looked at me and smiled apologetically, "Sorry. Old lady came out of nowhere and I lost it. They are the worst in traffic." I nodded in agreement, thinking of my Grandma Mazur and her brief stint at driving. People on the sidewalk in Trenton all breathed easy when she got her license revoked. She was the reason I was borrowing my Uncle Sandor's baby blue '53 Buick. Thinking of the fridge on wheels got me thinking about my escape again and IU turned to Connie, an idea formulating.

"Think one of your cousins would like to take a trip in a perfect condition '53." Connie raised an eyebrow.

"Probably they'd love it. Why?"

"I need someone to take a ride around town for me. Get some action from the bug in my car to Ranger so he doesn't come looking for me too early." I explained. Connie grinned.

"You're really scared of Ranger aren't you?"

"No!" Hell yes. "I just don't what this to get screwed over." Connie shot me a 'yeah right' look but handed me her phone anyway.

"Make sure you tell them it's Ranger they are skirting around. Seeing as Ranger's probably prone to shoot whoever he catches helping you in this crazy ass scheme, they should know what they are getting into." I shot her a scandalized look.

"Ranger wouldn't shoot anyone!" Probably. I grabbed the phone from her and quickly located Leo's number. He picked up on the second ring. "Hey, I have a favor? Are you up to driving around in my Uncle Sandor's Buick? '53 in prime condition."

"Hell yeah, what's the catch?"

"You have to watch out for Ranger. He's got my car bugged and if it stays in the lot too long, he'll get suspicious. Connie and I just need a few more hours to hit New York City and then it'll be harder for a tail to find us. It's really easy." I could hear him breathing on the phone, contemplating the pros of driving a one-of-the-kind classic and the cons of possibly being shot by Ranger.

"Where's the key?" Either Ranger was less frightening or the allures of the Buick were narrowed down to men only. I didn't know and I didn't care.

"Foyer of my apartment has a key hook. Ask the manager for the key, tell him Steph said it was okay." He ten-foured me and got off the phone. I sighed in relief and tossed the phone back to Connie who was grinning.

"Poor fool doesn't know what he's getting in to," she said, shaking her heavily teased hair. "Ranger's going to beat the hell out of any person hiding you from him." I wanted to argue with her about it and say Ranger wouldn't do something like that but I secretly suspected that Ranger killed Abruzzi when he was stalking me last year so beating up Leo Rossoli seemed rather tame and definitely within reach.

The next hour passed in mindless chatter and loud blaring from the radio. I was staring out the window, watching blocks of depreciated housing fly by. We had passed our third McDonald's when something caught my eye. "Turn around, I think I saw someone." Connie shot me a look but obediently took an illegal u-turn, honking at cars to keep them away. I clenched my teeth and made a mental note not to ask Connie to turn around in an interstate again.

"What are we looking for?" Connie asked casually as soon as we were out of immediate danger. Unless the guy behind us made good on his threat to ram us, anyway.

"That McDonald's." I pointed and she pulled in. I checked again and sure enough, he was there. "You see that man?" I pointed to the brown-haired bastard who had gone FTA last week and stolen my cuffs when I tried to arrest him. "FTA. Roger Smith." Connie nodded in recognition. "I'm going to tag him." Connie shot me an incredulous look as she idled in the parking lot.

"Are you crazy? We're out of the Trenton area and I didn't bring any papers."

"I did. And we don't have to be in the immediate area to tag anyone. I can ship them into any police department and collect the money." I grabbed my purse with my new cuffs, stun gun, pepper spray, and gun. I didn't want to leave the gun incase word got out. I figured I could shoot myself before my mother got a hold of me.

"But Ranger can track you by the bust if you aren't careful." Connie added as I was about to leave the car. Damn, I hadn't thought of that. I glared at Smith as he sat, chewing on his double cheeseburger and macking disgustingly on his overweight girlfriend. I really wanted to tag him, get past the humiliation of loosing let another pair of cuffs.

"We are still a few hours away, even if he got us this far, we could just disappear from the radar." I said hesitantly. I wasn't all too sure though. If a Rangeman employee caught sight of Leo in Big Blue and identified him and one caught hold of the information of where me and Connie were, it wouldn't be that hard to pull real estate for the family name. Connie eyed me pityingly.

"It's not safe. You're pregnant. Do you really want to lose your kid?" That hit me hard and I put a hand to my stomach. The idea of being a mother was terrifying, especially for Ranger's child, but I didn't want to lose it either. I had problems facing Ranger now, I had no idea what I'd do if I had to tell him I'd killed our child by foolishly chasing after some petty thief in a McDonald's.

"Drive away." I told her sliding back into my seat. I tried to come to grips with the fact that for the next nine months, I couldn't be a bounty hunter. The men in my life must be relieved. My mother too. "Stop at the next Dunkin' Donuts." I'll take the precaution of not getting shot at, but Ranger could go to hell if he thought I'd give up junk food for almost a year.

* * *

So. kind of filler, but I wanted to write something like this down. It'll pick up some next chapter. I hoped you like it. Also, I'm thinking about writing a character's read story for SP because I've never seen one but I don't know if anyone would like the idea so please tell me whether you think its a bad idea or a good idea. Also, any votes on how Morelli/Ranger should react? How they should find out? I already have an idea on who will be the main conflict in the story but everything else is up to change. Hope you enjoyed it, I'll update as soon as possible. Thank you for reading!


	3. Discovered

It was the middle of the afternoon when Connie finally pulled up to a medium sized two story house. The driveway was freshly cleaned cement; the lawn was a lush green and flowers dotted around the front. I figured this was where the mob sent their landscapers before taking them for a ride to the dump. I decided that I was safe from Ranger as I hadn't received any irate phone calls demanding to know where the hell I was. I didn't know how much longer that would be, but I figured, why not take advantage of it. I grabbed my purse and followed Connie out of the car.

I was stiff from sitting in the car and my feet were tingling from inactivity. I stretched widely before stepping into the house. It was sparsely but tastefully furnished and it was hard enough to imagine brain spattered on the walls, so I thought it good enough and went into the kitchen to see if there was any food.

Connie was already in the kitchen eating Fritos from the bag and checking her text messages. "Lula wants to know where the hell we are and Vinnie's bitching about leaving the office unattended." Just the usual then. I snagged the bag from her and ate half of them as she answered her messages.

"Anyone else?" Connie shook her head as she finished her text and eyed my bag. I stuck my tongue out of her and held the bag closer to me. She sighed and pulled out a new bag and opened it. Ranger would probably flip out if he saw us eating the food we were. My mother would flip out that we were eating at the counters. I stuck two in my mouth and mentally stuck my tongue out at the images.

"You're lucky you're pregnant. You got an excuse to put on weight," Connie told me. "I told Lula we were doing some boring shit upstate and ignored Vinnie's text." I nodded in agreement. "You get any texts from Superman or Batman?" I shook my head. "I didn't get any cut off texts from Leo or anything so I assume Ranger hasn't found him yet." I shuddered at the thought of Ranger finding Leo in Big Blue and made the mental note to text Leo to retire the Buick early.

"I suppose we are in the clear for the night then. Ranger won't bother me late unless he has a skip in mind. I told him a few weeks ago if he bothered me between the hours of seven and seven, I would shoot him in the knee. He's called every time since then." Connie smiled.

"You threatened Ranger?" I blushed at the implication. Truth was, I'd never shoot Ranger, especially not now with the baby. I had just found out I was pregnant when I told him and it was nearly eleven at night and I was cranky. I'm a good Catholic girl that got knocked up by my boss slash mercenary lover. It was my God given right to be cranky. "Must be the hormones." Connie told me as I trashed my bag. I felt a little uneasy and wondered if I was going to puke. It would be just my luck to be one of those few people that got morning sickness at night. Or maybe it was less the baby and more of the jumbo bag of chips I had just scarfed down.

Me and Connie talked through the night about dating and men and war stories with makeup. Every once in a while, a baby question would pop up and I would be stumped. I didn't know how I was going to tell the men in my life, I'd die or flee the country before I told my mother. I knew I preferred having a boy to a girl at the moment, I knew that I was keeping the baby even if Ranger didn't want it. I wasn't sure what I was going to name the child and I secretly was glad for it to be Ranger's baby instead of Morelli's.

I didn't know why, Morelli loved me and would marry me in a heartbeat if he knew. He would provide a good house and support for me and the child, but I also knew that he would enforce more control over me. He would guilt trip me into leaving my job, tell me it was selfish to carry on a job that would get me killed when I had a child, and all other stuff. Ranger might not marry me, I wasn't sure how well he would support our child beyond financial, but I knew that he would still allow me to be me.

Connie surprisingly got my jumbled feelings fairly well. She told me she always thought Ranger would be better, even as just a cheap fuck. She said Morelli was too controlling, too overly Italian sexist to fit into my lifestyle. Then again, neither of us really knew how Ranger fit into my life beyond vigilante lover and now the father of my unborn child. Still, it was nice to have someone who agreed with my reasoning, no matter how crazy and I was nearly happy when I went to bed close to one in the morning.

I woke to the disgustingly chirpy sound of my phone and in my sleepy haze, nearly answered the phone. The nauseous feeling in my stomach reminded me of the dangers however and I ran to the bathroom instead of the phone. When I had cleared my stomach of all its contents, I went back to my room. My phone blinked that I had a new voicemail and after several seconds of immature debate, I steeled my nerves and answered it. It was Ranger and he didn't sound particularly happy or excessively pissed. All it said was to call him.

I debated it but if he had found Leo in the Buick and I didn't answer, he might hurt Leo to get answers. And Leo would squeal like a pig and then Ranger would know I was preggers. And if Ranger knew, I was going to have to kill Leo for telling him. And I didn't want to kill a mobster because it would shorten my lifespan. So I counted to ten, prayed to God and promised him I would go to church every Sunday for this to simply be a routine check. The counting didn't help and I made so many similar promises to God in my prayers that I wasn't sure if he even listened anymore.

Ranger picked up after the first ring. Not a good sign. "Mind telling me why your Buick is parked outside Joyce Barnhardt's house?" Shit. Men only went to Joyce's house for one reason. Couldn't Leo have waited to let Mr. Happy out of his bag until he got to his own car?

"Working on the same skip, staking to see if she has any information." I crossed my fingers, hoping that lying to the father of my child wasn't one of the seven deadly sins.

"Funny enough. Someone just walked to the car and it's not you. Looks like Connie's cousin Leo actually." Fuck. Ranger knew. Ranger knew and I was screwed. Royally screwed. "Where are you Babe, really?" I bit my lip, hoping a sudden epiphany would come to me as I thought. The only thought that came to mind was that I needed coffee. And a donut.

"I just needed some time away. Connie and I took an early vacation." I hoped Ranger didn't read too far into it. He never seemed to pry much before but then again, I'd never completely flown off his blimp either.

"Don't suppose you'd mind telling me where you were?"

"Don't suppose I would. Why?" There was an indiscernible sound at the other end that might have been a sigh. Hard to tell with Ranger.

"Because Edward Scrog has been released on bail and word on the street is he's looking for you, Babe." Fuck, fuck, fuck and double fuck. Change my order to overdone. This was just too much. I hung up the phone and nearly crashed onto the bed as I sunk onto the floor. The phone was vibrating angrily in my hand as I contemplated a one-way trip to the other side of the world.

* * *

So I used Scrog because I figured he would best fit in with the story. Although it was stated that Julie shot him, it never said whether or not she killed him ( I think) so I'm going with not. I hope you still enjoy it and any suggestions would be helpful. Should Ranger already know/suspect or should it be a surprise? It's twelve in the morning and I have finals so I hope you enjoyed the chapter and are willing are to give your opinions, thank you for reading and I'll update as soon as possible.


	4. Visit

Connie found me huddled on the floor, clutching my now thankfully silent phone half an hour later. My phone was blinking with God knows how many messages from Ranger and I know he must have been pissed. Probably he had already gotten the information from Leo. Connie certainly didn't seem all that surprised to see me upset.

"Leo just called," she told me, sliding down next to me. "Squealed like a pig to Ranger. He's on his way here, probably breaking every speed limit imaginable and packing enough to overthrow a third world country. I didn't know Edward Scrog could make parole. "I didn't either and the thought frightened me. "What do you want to do Steph?" I expected the question but it still threw me. I didn't know what I wanted to do now.

Part of me was quite willing to return to Ranger and not have to worry about Scog finding me alone but another part was far more terrified of Ranger than Scrog. Scrog could kill me, and probably given my past with him, slowly and painfully. But after I was dead, I was gone, poof no more pain. Ranger would never physically hurt me but his rebukes could be a lot worse. Probably my reasoning wasn't healthy but I'd rather be dead then have me and my child neglected.

What I needed was to have more information. I needed to know how Ranger took care of Julie, how he met Rachel. I needed to know enough to take the chance. I didn't want to bring myself into possibly that much pain and I didn't want to put my child into a position to be rejected. I already knew that Ranger cared for Julie, would go to the end of the world for her, but that wasn't enough for me. I wanted him to be there for our child's birthdays, Christmases, their first steps and their first words. I didn't want someone who called on a whim every once in a while. I wanted someone who would hold my hand as we watched our child get married or graduate. I wanted someone to be the father, not just the baby daddy.

I needed someone who knew Ranger like I did. There was only one person who had been in the same situation as me and I needed to talk to them. And, in a slightly irrelevant matter, going home to an irate Ranger was unappealing to my admittedly chicken shit personality. "I won't go home. Not yet. I still need to figure things out first." I told Connie.

"Like whether or not Batman will be there?" Connie asked me. I nodded and she sighed. "Steph, I was all for this getaway. Believe me when I tell you scaring Ranger into his senses is appealing to me, but Scrog's out and think about what he'll do to you. Wouldn't be better to wait until Ranger comes to rescue his damsel? You don't have to tell him." The idea was appealing but I knew that as soon as I was back within Ranger's reach, there was no escape and I still wouldn't have my answers.

"If Ranger needed to threaten your cousin to find out where I am, Scrog's gonna have it a lot more difficult. Especially where we are going to go. Neither will know where I plan to go." Connie looked at me, her teeth biting into her perfectly coated ruby red lips.

"And that would be?"

"Miami. I got some money saved up from my last skip and a passport under my middle name and my mother's maiden." She shot me a look. "Don't ask. Anyway, I need to talk to Ranger's ex-wife. Find out how she told him and all that." And how he reacted. How he reacted was vitally important to my mental wellbeing.

"You're crazy." Connie told me. But five minutes later she was booking bargain seats in a last minute flight to Florida and I was packing up the few things that had ventured out of my bag and changing back into the clothes I wore the day before. They were rumpled but still smelled clean. For good measure, I threw on new mascara and eyeliner and wetted my hair in an attempt to calm the curls and decided that was good enough. As a precaution, I turned my phone off before heading out the door behind Connie. I prayed to God Ranger didn't catch us and hopped into the car.

* * *

It was early evening when our plane finally landed but I was determined to make the trek to the Martine household. Connie gathered the information from a quick search on the laptop she had snitched from the office and we were off in a cab, heading towards the residential wing. The Martines lived in a nicely maintained, upper middle class portion of suburbia and their house took a while to pick out amongst the similar homes.

After our third swing around, we finally parked in front of a two story, pale yellow house with white trim and a post stamp yard. I left the tab running and an irritated Italian in the cab as I trekked up the short trail to the front yard. I paused before knocking, panicking slightly. What if Rachel hated Ranger for knocking her up? Hated me for interfering in her life? I was just about to turn around and race my ass off to the car when the door clicked open, and a three inch gap appeared, one soft brown eye staring at me apprehensively.

"Hello," I tried to keep my voice calm as I gave a small, faux cheery wave. "Are you Rachel Martine?" The portion I could see of the woman nodded and I continued. "I'm Stephanie Plum and I was wondering if I could speak to you?" The door flew open at the sound of my name and the woman was smiling welcomingly. She was a pleasant sort of woman, slightly shorter than me with noticeably bigger breasts and wider hips. Her hair was straight, falling nearly to mid chest in a thick, mahogany curtain, her skin was a warm, russet color and her lips were large and soft. She was quite beautiful, especially compared to my tall, beanpole shape, my pasty skin, and my large mane of wild curls.

"You are Carlos's girlfriend? You helped my daughter." I blushed and immediately went to correct her on the girlfriend part, but she continued. "What do you need, dear?"

"Well, um, I wanted to ask you something, but it's rather personal and I totally understand if you don't wanna answer and –" I was rambling and I was rather glad when she cut me off.

"You're pregnant with Carlos's child and you are afraid to tell him, aren't you?" she smiled at me warmly and gestured me inside. I didn't know how she knew, but I was rather relieved that I didn't have to explain it to her. She led me into the living room and sat down opposite of me. "My husband Ron and our children went out to gather something up for dinner tonight so we can talk in private. What do you want to know?" I thought briefly. There was a lot I wanted to know so I quickly prioritized. I figured the most pressing matter was how to go about the first step; the one that had sent me running in the first place.

"How'd you tell him?" she stared at me weirdly for a moment before answering.

"I didn't. He came to me a couple months after we had – uh – _met_, and asked me if I was. Said he'd seen me around while on base and noticed I looked different. That man didn't miss much, not then and certainly not know. We barely knew each other but he had learned enough to tell something was off. From what Julie's said about you two together, it's quite likely he already knows." She was eyeing me with evident sympathy, obviously gathering that I was freaking out but all I could think was one thing. Oh fucking shit. I was dead.

* * *

So, I figured Rachel would be willing to answer her questions, giving all Stephanie did to save Julie, and that's why I put her in. I also wanted to create more of a Ranger-vibe. I still haven't decided because I got quite a few ideas on how Ranger should find out that were all very good but I also got pointed out that Ranger doesn't miss much. So it's between suspects and knows and that's up to you all. Most votes wins. I'm not all too sure about this chapter but I hoped you liked it. Thank you for reading.


	5. Trapped

Rachel was still smiling at me sympathetically as I tried not to pass out. Ranger had used his inhuman senses to see that she was pregnant and if he could tell from a woman he'd only met to briefly bump uglies, I was screwed. To hell with Scrog catching me, if a Rangeman vehicle caught sight of me, I was toast. The thought of Scrog brought an ugly realization to mind and I nearly jumped out of my seat, guilt coursing through my body. I hadn't warned Rachel about Scrog yet!

"Rachel," I turned to her, slightly guilty over the surprised look on her face, "I got to tell you something. It's very urgent, Scrog's out and –"

"Oh I know. Ranger told me, Julie's under surveillance right now as she plays." Rachel interrupted me, now calm once she realized what I was suddenly frantic about. I started to relax before another thought caught up to me and I nearly shrieked.

"What about the house? The house is under surveillance?" Rachel nodded and I jumped out of my seat for the final time, looking around frantically. "Ranger can be watching us! He can know I'm here and have sent people!" Dimly, in the back of my mind, the reasonable part of my consciousness pointed out that probably wasn't necessary a bad thing but the larger, crazier and admittedly more used part was still screaming inside. Rangeman men were watching!

Rachel bit her lip, "I didn't think of that. It does take some privacy out of our lives, but the benefits far outweigh the problems. I'm sure no one has been paged out yet. They couldn't work quite that fast, we've only been speaking for a few minutes, after all." Obviously Rachel didn't know the type of abnormal humans employed by or the fear instilled by her ex-husband. I raced to the front of the house and pulled back the blind to the front window. Sure enough, parked right beside the cab was a black SUV and an alarmingly large man was getting out.

"That's Jake." Rachel told me as she joined me by the window. "Rangeman number one in the Miami division. Owner too. Pretty big pole to catch such a little fish." She observed, taking a look at my frame. I wasn't exactly dainty by any means but compared to the behemoth approaching the front door cautiously, I might as well have been an elf.

"The Man of Wonder isn't taking any chances for me to get away this time." I told her, rummaging anxiously through my purse. "Trouble is," I told her, hand finally coming in contact with my stun gun and pepper spray, "I'm not quite ready to come back." I smiled at her, trying to pretend as if I wasn't sweating bullets and inwardly freaking out."Thank you for your time." I turned and headed for the front door, but Rachel's soft voice called back.

"He loves you, you know, and the baby. And he'll do anything to keep those he loves safe. He will catch you. I hope you are prepared for when he does. And he's different then he was when Julie was born. Softer, I guess. He'll take care of you." I smiled, suddenly less sure on my feet, and thanked her again. Rachel was a kind woman and I could see what young Ranger must have fallen for, at least for that one night. I only hoped I didn't make her and Julie targets again for being here.

I steeled my nerves, brushed aside all thoughts of the baby and Ranger, and opened the door to address the immediate problem. Jake was even larger up close and at the moment I opened the door, he had been right outside. I 'eeped' fearfully and looked up from his barrel-chested torso. The man was huge, easily above six feet, and heavily muscled, his dark skin taunt over them. It was like looking at a ripped, clean-cut, and deadly Hagrid. He grinned down at me.

"You the little lady Ranger got me looking for?" I bit my lip and hastily thought up a response.

"Who's Ranger?" I asked, hoping that the words didn't fall flat to his ears. With any luck, Jake was as chivalrously foolish as most of Ranger's men and I could get away. Very few men of that size didn't underestimate women like me. He grinned and clamped handcuffs on my hand. Shit.

"Sorry, little lady, but Ranger sent over a picture with his request and his missing girl looked quite a bit like you. Gonna take you down to the office so Ranger can collect you." He was still smiling and he was gentle with the cuffs as he slid the other cuff onto my hand. He was nice enough and I knew he probably was a really nice guy. That didn't change the fact that Ranger terrified me and the thought of being 'collected' made me think of myself as some item and the idea pissed me off. I may have shared a bed with Ranger, but under no circumstances did I belong to Batman.

As soon as he had pulled away from me far enough, I lifted my knee and shoved his jewels up to his nostrils. I heard Rachel's bark of surprised laughter and shot her a two-handed wave as best as I could with the cuffs before skirting around the lumped over Rangeman. I apologized to him as I sprinted towards the cab and jumped in beside Connie. She was grinning as I sat, out of breath and frantically gestured for the cabbie to drive.

The cabbie looked at me and back to Jake slowly getting up off the ground and floored the engine. It took several minutes to calm my heart and my hands lay protectively on my stomach. I knew that Jake, as a partner to Ranger, would never hurt me, or in byproduct, my child but the sight of him looming over me and the feeling of entrapment remained behind. I hated feeling like that, almost more than being shot at. I needed something to calm myself. A Tastykake or a donut. Maybe a dozen donuts.

"Stop at the nearest bakery," I told the cabbie. Connie was still watching me, a grin in place.

"What?" I asked her, checking to see if I had anything on me from the slight tumble. Her grin widened.

"You really are a constant riot." She told me. I was about to respond, possibly with some authentic Italian hand signals, when my phone rang. My heart quickened and I debated not answering it. Then I realized that would be silly, it might not even be Ranger. I'd been gone a full day now; it could be Lula, my mother, or even Morelli. The last two didn't make it all the more tempting to answer the phone but anything was better than Ranger, so I flipped it open and held it to my ear. "Hello?"

Silence met my greeting but it wasn't an oppressive, fear inducing silence. Instead, it was oddly comforting and definitely intimate. Heat flooded my navel and I knew who was on the other end. "Babe." A little amused, mostly exasperated with a bit of annoyance and worry slipped in. Only Ranger could convey so many emotions in one word. "That's four now." I blushed at the reminder. Four Rangeman I have blown out of commission. None of them were my fault. Well, maybe the one I stun gunned, but he wasn't letting me leave and I apologized. I didn't ask Tank to jump out the window and break his leg and I definitely didn't ask Cal to join me at the birth of my third niece and faint at the sight of the crowning head and get a concussion. Jake shouldn't have cuffed me.

"Why did you send Jake after me?" My heart beat erratically as I waited the answer, both hoping and dreading for the answer. Silence stretched two beats before he responded.

"Why were you at Rachel's?" Damn. He knew I hated it when someone answered a question with a question.

"Why do you want to know?" I challenged back. Two could play the game. I heard a small sound that might have been a sigh or a groan except Ranger didn't make either of those sounds. Well, maybe sometimes in the middle of an intimate time but that was rare and only if I was doing something particularly expletive.

"Scrog's after you. I want you to come home, babe." _Come home_, the words sent an odd shiver down my spine. I didn't quite know where that was at the moment. Maybe my apartment, maybe with Morelli, or even with Ranger.

"I'm not quite ready yet." I told him, wondering if he knew the reason. Perhaps it was being left unsaid, maybe he just hadn't connected the dots yet. Another beat passed.

"You can run, but you can't hide forever. Both of you stay safe." He told me and the connection shut off, leaving me wide-eyed and freaking. He could have been talking about me and Connie, or he could have been talking about me and the baby he may or may not know about. If he knew, he certainly didn't sound angry, more worried than anything, and that counted some. Still, there was the shred of doubt that he didn't know, or that I read his words wrong and he was very, very angry but was holding it in until I was safe back in Trenton to discuss things.

My brain was mush by the time we got to the car dealership to get a loaner and my stomach was protesting the large amount of donuts I had consumed. I was so preoccupied, it took me too long to realize who was in front of me, and by the time I had, it was too late. I was staring into the definitely pissed off eyes of a man much taller than me. I gulped. Damn. He grabbed me and pulled me into the dealership, stealing me away from Connie while her back was turned.

"Let's talk." He told me, locking the door behind us. Double damn.

* * *

So, sorry for the wait and the cliffy! I hope the chapter met your expectations. To clear a few things, Scrog made parole and for all those who doubt he could, Ramirez made parole in the series and in my opinion, he was a lot worse. Also, Rachel was trusting because she knew Stephanie and Stephanie was so preoccupied, she hadn't realized she hadn't warned Rachel. And the four men Ranger mentioned are the three incidents I remember, the time Tank broke his leg jumping out a building after a skip, the time Cal (or Hal, maybe) fainted seeing Valerie giving birth, and the time she stun gunned one of the merry men to leave. And of course Jake. I figured her reaction was quite accurate for Stephanie, but please tell me if there are any inconsistencies or things I could work on to make it more realistic (for Stephanie). So my question for you, do you want Ranger to know, or do you want him to have been talking about Stephanie and Connie? And a new question, if he suspects/knows, do you want him to think it was his or Morelli's? Also, any guesses on to the man talking to Stephanie? I shall now end this abnormally long AN with a thank you and a promise to update as soon as possible.


	6. Confrontation

Thank you to everyone that reviewed! So many people guessed or hoped for a certain person that I nearly changed it to them but one did guess correctly so cyber cookies for them! I decided to keep it with my original idea because I thought this conversation was necessary.

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I suppose I had never seen Morelli so angry, but that might not be completely true. He had seemed rather angry when I ran him over with my father's Buick on the way to the mall when I was a teenager and he hadn't been very happy when I had gotten his brand new Jeep Cherokee blown up when I first began bounty hunting. Truth was, me and Morelli had spent a good deal of time getting under each other's skin and the other time getting under each other's clothes. Not much room for polite conversation between tearing at clothes and tearing at flesh and I doubted this would be the time to start. Morelli was pissed and he wanted answers I wasn't all too willing to give at the moment.

"How'd you find me?" I asked, trying to subtlety back away from Morelli. I doubted he would ever intentionally hit me, but he had been known to make exaggerated gestures while arguing and I didn't want to take the chance. If Ranger found me with a shiner he'd kill whoever did it and from the calling card I left at Rachel's I doubted it would be long before he caught up to me.

"You aren't exactly discreet, cupcake." He told me, eyes boring into me and making me gulp audibly. I'd seen him excited, where his eyes turned to molten gold, and I'd seen him angry with black eyes. Right now his eyes were like chipped onyx and he had leaned in closer to me, so that I could feel his warm breath on my lips. There was the discreet bitter-sweet scent of alcohol on his breath that made me uncomfortable. I knew Morelli well and trusted him but no woman with knowledge on the male Morelli line would feel comfortable with an enraged one with a hundred proof breath.

"Okay, why did you find me?" I asked, backtracking. I didn't bother keeping my voice low but pitched it as high as possible without alerting Morelli. I wanted Connie to realize where I was and come to my rescue.

"We had a date, cupcake, at my parent's house last night. You didn't show and I called your apartment. Imagine my surprise when Ranger picked up and told me you were upstate. Then I check flights and realize you are heading to Miami under your mother's maiden name and to the home town to the fucking psychopath that just got out and wants you dead. Why the hell did you go to Miami? Who the hell is here that's so important you have to put yourself in danger?" Morelli was close to me now, his breath invading my senses and I had the flitting moment of panic. Then, the anger set in and manhandled my fear and common sense out of the way.

"What's it matter what I'm doing? It's my life Morelli and I'll be damned if I let a man dictate what I do! I'm not property and I can go wherever the hell I want to without answering to you! I didn't even want to go to that damn dinner and I told you that!" For a moment Morelli looked shocked, obviously not expecting me to fight back in his drunken, Italian-inherited sexist stupor. Then his famous Italian temperament took over and he was bearing over me.

"That doesn't give you the excuse to run away like a scared dog! Can't you just talk to me for five seconds before deciding what the hell you are going to do?"

"No, I can't! Because you never listen and even if you do you aren't paying attention! You don't notice anything about me unless it's dangerous or embarrassing to you!" I shouted, the temper I inherited from my father coming to surface.

"The hell I don't! I notice things about you!" Morelli screamed back, no doubt alerting others of our fight. I dimly hoped Connie had heard but most of my senses were overcome with anger. I spent two weeks hiding my condition after I found out, I was nearing the second month mark and no one had known. My emotions were rampant from stress and hormones, and I just _snapped, _my damn mouth opening before I even thought.

"Really, Joe? Cause in case you didn't notice in all your paying attention, I'm fucking pregnant." I saw the change come over Morelli within an instant. His anger evaporated to be replaced with an ecstatic expression that made me wince. Shit, I needed to watch my mouth.

"Pregnant? Cupcake that's amazing! We can get married!" I shook my head, biting my lip in guilt as I watched his smile falter. "Why not?" he asked me in a suddenly small voice. I cringed. I did love Morelli, probably since high school when he charmed me into selling my virginity to him along with the cannoli he had been sent in to buy, but I knew it wouldn't go anywhere. Not just because I was pregnant with another man's child, but because of us in general. We were too similar, too hot-headed, too impulsive, too wild for each other. We lived in two separate orbs and the curve just couldn't be crossed. I had tears in my eyes when I spoke.

"I don't want to marry you, Joe. I never did and I never will. Guess marriage just isn't for me." I shrugged nervously, ashamed at the tears stinging my eyes. I wasn't going to cry over this, not in front of Morelli. His expression darkened and he stepped towards me menacingly. Terrified, I nonetheless held my ground, too stubborn to move an inch.

"What about the baby? You want that baby to think its mother is a whore because she won't marry its father? Huh? What's that going to do to the baby, Stephanie? You really that selfish? You belong with me and even if you didn't that baby deserves its father." I bit back my retort that it would have its father, just not him. I didn't think that would go well in the currently fragile situation.

"I'm not going to marry you. It's never going to happen." I wanted to tell him then, why I couldn't marry him, but I was shocked as he raised his hand. Would Joe actually hit me? I 'eeped' quietly, a truly brave sound from the badass bounty hunter, and ducked out of the way. For a terrifying moment, I thought he would swing again, but his eyes merely rolled to the back of his head and he crashed onto the floor. Connie stood behind him, smirking lightly and deftly slipping a stun gun back into her purse.

"Always wanted to touch that tight ass. Just a plus that I got to shoot him up with bolts at the same time." I smiled despite myself.

"Thanks. It was getting scary there." I told her, trying in vain to play off the incident. Connie obviously didn't buy it.

"I would have shot him in the ass instead for nearly hitting a pregnant woman, but I didn't think the blood would be good for the baby. Nausea, stress and all that shit. Still, loose morals he must have if he's willing to rough up a woman expecting. Real piece of shit." I nodded, silently agreeing. I never expected Morelli to quite be like that when I told him.

"We probably shouldn't just leave him like that. He could wake up and follow us." Maybe Connie should have aimed for his gonads. I doubted a man would be moving all too fast if he took bolts up his Mr. Happy.

"Way ahead of you." Connie told me, snapping the cuffs she had managed to pick off my hands onto Morelli's wrists and leaving him tied to a round support beam in the middle of the room. "Car's all paid and ready. Can head out wherever you want to go. Where is that exactly?" I thought for a moment, looking towards the slightly twitching form of Morelli. As soon as he woke, he would undoubtedly tell everyone back in Jersey the news about my condition and if that got back to Ranger before I could explain things to him, it would be a lot more problematic for me.

"Home. I'm ready to go home." I told her, inwardly trying to convince myself the same. I stepped on Morelli's hand on the way out to the car and that made me feel better.

* * *

So, I really hope you liked this and that everyone was in character. I'm sorry if I offended anyone who reads this and likes Morelli but he was drunk and is prone to violence, even if not to Stephanie. I actually can stand Morelli, although I prefer Ranger by far. So, Stephanie's going home, what is everyone's thoughts on that? What should happen? Should Morelli have spread the word, thinking it was his baby? Should Ranger have heard the rumor and confront Steph as soon as she gets off the plane? Any other ideas? Thank you for reading this and all the wonderful reviews everyone has left. I'll update again as soon as possible.

P.S. Did everyone like Connie's involvement? I figured it would be nice to have her do something before they returned to Jersey.


	7. Captured

Connie must have a cousin working in the airport because there was no other way she could have managed to get two tickets so quick for the second time in a row. We had stayed the night in a hotel and caught the earliest flight possible the next day. I was anxious to get home, hoping to beat Morelli's inevitable calls. I'm sure my mother was going crazy right now and perhaps rumors had already begun to fly through the phone lines around the Burg but I only had one thing on my plan when I got home. I was going to talk to Ranger. Just sit down and tell him everything. If he didn't care or want anything to do with the child, tough shit for him. If he did, and I really hoped he did, I had a whole new level of terror to look forward to.

My phone went off for the first time about an hour into the flight and I jumped out of my seat when it did. I was nervous, freaked out actually, about Morelli and Scrog, Ranger and the baby, and I definitely didn't want to talk to anyone. Still, egged on by a pointed look from Connie, I pulled my still vibrating phone out of my bag. My mother's number flashed across the screen and I could imagine her angry, slightly drunken tone.

I didn't want a lecture about how good Catholic daughters don't get pregnant or how no one else had a daughter like me or that I needed to get married. I loved my mother and I knew she wanted the best for me, but if truth was to be told, if she even mentioned the name Morelli to me at the moment, I was going to jump out of the plane window. I loved God too, and the Catholic born guilt was eating me alive but to hell with it all if it meant marrying Morelli. I'd rather be living in sin with Ranger and our child, never married for the rest of my life, than be married to Morelli and subjected to Old World sexism for a day. I didn't want it.

I slipped my phone back into my purse and set in the floor as soon as it had stopped ringing. The problem was, she kept calling. And calling. By the end of half an hour, I was getting angry looks from other passengers and stewardesses all around and there can only be so many birds flipped before someone gets really pissed. Even Connie's glaring on my behalf was losing its power and I was rather worried she would resort to the Glock in her handbag. As I didn't particularly like the idea of having to call Ranger and tell him I had been detained and held on the threat of national security because Connie pulled a gun on a pissed off passenger, I braved the phone.

"STEPHANIE MICHELLE PLUM! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I HAVE BEEN? NO PHONE CALL, NO NOTE IN YOUR APARTMENT, YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED BY ONE OF THOSE MANIACS AND I WOULD HAVE NEVER KNOWN!" I winced at her loud tone. My mother rarely shouted, not like this. She generally called you in for help, gave you food and interrogated you when you least expected it. Her ways were very effective ever since I was a little girl that got caught with my underwear inside out coming out of Morelli's garage.

"Mom. Calm down, I'm okay." I doubted very much whether I was actually okay but I had spent a weekend without being shot at, lunged for, having fallen, been involved in devastating car destruction, or anything of the sort, so I guess in a relative way I wasn't lying.

"Okay? How can you be okay? Have you heard any of the rumors going around about you?" I winced and bit back a groan. Damn Morelli. Damn Burg gossip. "Your grandmother heard from Bella Morelli that you were pregnant with Joseph's child and were heading to Florida to elope! I am your mother and I'm the last to hear about your marriage? How can you do that to me? Imagine my embarrassment to be the last to know that I'm going to have another grandchild!" Fucking shit. I winced as I came up with my next words.

"I'm not getting married to Joe Mom. I am never getting married to Joe." I could hear her silence, both angry and shocked, through the line.

"Why not? God forbid Stephanie, you are with a child now. It's time to grow up and act like a woman! Set aside your differences with Joe and do it for the child. If you hate him so much, divorce him when she or he is grown. Or wait till he dies, everyone knows Morelli men all die at an early age. Can you imagine what everyone will say if you don't get married? How come my daughter is the only woman who thinks she can take on the world by herself? Angie Morelli got married as soon as she found out she was pregnant."

"I'm not Angelina Morelli, Mom. I'm not going to stand to be ridiculed and abused by some drunken Italian sexist. Not even if the child was his!" I had spoken a little too loud and was getting incredulous looks from the woman in front me. I flipped her off and turned towards the window to continue my conversation.

"Not his child? Stephanie, if it's not Joseph's, whose is it?" My mother's voice was now suddenly softer, and I could just imagine her twirling the line anxiously, body turned towards the corner as if to block everyone but me out. I gulped. I didn't want to explain this to my mother. I didn't want to hear the disappointment or anger. But I knew I needed to. It was part of returning home, part of the growing up I was being forced to do. How could I be a mother without even being able to stand up to mine?

"Ranger's, Mom. It's Ranger's baby. He doesn't know yet but I think he suspects. That's why I ran. I let it slip to Morelli but he overreacted when I told him I didn't want to get married and Connie had to stun him to stop him from hitting me before I could explain and he must have called Grandma Morelli and told her before I could come home."

"He nearly _hit _you? That lowlife bastard!" I was shocked. My mother hardly ever cursed; to her it was one of the deadly sins. It went right along with being unmarried after thirty, having children out of matrimony, and dinner being served any later than six o'clock. "To think I let him in my house, was prepared to call him my son-in-law. Eurgh!" I heard the distinctive sound of bottles clinking and the sound of my mother taking a long drink of something. It was only eight o'clock but my mother was already drinking. She'd be ironing by nine at the latest.

"Mom, it's all right. I'm done with Morelli and most likely Ranger will never allow me near him once he finds out what he tried to do. I'm coming home so I can talk to Ranger about our options." I heard her pour herself another drink and waited for her to respond.

"Well, obviously he will be marrying you, won't he?"

"I don't know, Mom. Ranger's not the marrying type." Or the fatherly, the dating, or settling down in any way.

"The hell he isn't! I'll send your grandmother down to his office with her gun for God's sakes. He got you knocked up and he can damn sure give you his name! What's his address?" I imagined my grandmother stalking down the Rangeman hallways towards Ranger's office with her long barrel and shivered. I would never hear the end of it.

"That won't be necessary, Mom. I'll talk to Ranger. I'll see you when I get home, I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. Keep safe and marry that bastard." I made a mental note to confiscate all the liquor in my parents' house when I returned and hung up the phone. Connie was watching me with amusement in her eyes but I ignored her. Morelli had told his family I was pregnant, most likely Bella Morelli conjured up the married part as is the way of her overbearing nature.

The whole of Trenton most likely knew now, including Ranger, figuring that he had traveled back to Trenton sometime between his phone call to me and sending the photograph to Jake in Miami. Which meant he knew, to some extent, and considering whom I had gone to speak with, most likely was the only other person beyond me, Connie, Rachel, Leo, and my mother who knew who the baby belonged to. This meant he would be waiting for me at the airport, definitely angry. I only hoped he was supporting as well.

We touched down several hours later with minimum turbulence but me feeling like I was going to throw up. Seeing as I had refused to touch any food on the plane because of the prices, I knew that I was beginning the joyful feelings of morning sickness. If Ranger was at the airport, I was going to hit him very hard, maybe with my stun gun.

Connie helped me find the bathroom and then went to collect the small bags we had of clothing while I puked out the only food I'd eaten, donuts collected from a grocery store before we had boarded the plane. Once the nausea had rolled away, I scrubbed my hands clean and opened the door to the bathroom with my hip. I froze when I felt arms wrap around me and tried hitting back before realizing that the hands around me had pinned my arms to me so it was more of a wrestling hold than an embrace.

"Babe." The voice called me, distinctly amused. I nearly relaxed, the voice was so similar to Ranger's but my instincts were on high alert at the moment, and I could hear the slight difference in the tone. I turned as well as I could and stared into the man's face. It was very nearly Ranger's, no doubt beautifully crafted to resemble his, but with deliberate differences. He was slightly taller, and less muscled, his eyes were solid black instead of the dark brown of Ranger's. He was distinctly less handsome and his eyes bore the softly crazed look of someone who had spent too much time alone.

I was locked in the embrace of Edward Scrog and no way to get out of it.

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And the plot thickens! I'm sorry for anyone that was hoping to finally have some Ranger and Stephanie face-to-face interaction but I thought this needed to be done soon. Also, I know a lot of people on fanfiction don't particularly like Stephanie's mom but I think its rather clear in the book that although she cares about what other people say, Stephanie is still her daughter and she would fight for her. I hope otherwise she is in character (also I wanted someone to bad mouth Ranger a little, just cause). On a little tangent, I was looking through my copy of Twelve Sharp, looking up Scrog's first name and it says in the end that Scrog wasn't dead at that moment. So... this is sort of cannon! Anyway hope you enjoyed it and I'll update as soon as possible, thanks for reading!

Also, any ideas or anything you would like to see?


	8. Reunion

I was panicking, my eyes darting from Scrog's arms around me to the rest of the airport. I couldn't see Connie, we were supposed to meet up at the entrance way, and I didn't know if she would come looking for me before I was already gone. I didn't see Ranger either. I couldn't think of anyone else coming to my aide. I was alone, guarded by Scrog, with no way to escape.

"Move." Scrog whispered into my ear and I felt cold metal against my back and gave a soft 'eep' and began to move, slowly, towards the parking lot. I kept my eyes out for Connie but she was immersed fully in the crowd and completely out of sight. My next option was for Ranger or a Rangeman employee and I always did a slight double take whenever I saw a glimpse of black. No one showed up.

My only hope as we got out to the parking lot was that something around me could distract Scrog long enough to escape. Normally I would risk fighting him but because of the baby and the cool metal poking into the middle of my back, that was hardly an option. I knew talking at this point wouldn't work. I'd dealt with Scrog and he knew all my tricks. Scrog was a psychopath and reasoning was well beyond his limited grasp of mental stability.

Scrog continued guiding me down the car lanes, sometimes stopping for a moving car, waving emphatically to the ones that spend a little too long looking. I knew that Scrog was quite capable of killing innocent people and was always secretly glad when an innocent person drove off. It put me in further danger but at the same time, the likelihood of an average person being able to deal with Scrog was low.

Scrog lead me to the very end of the lot, the furthest from the airport or any surrounding building. The van in front of me was large and windowless. A rusted old white that would blend in well with other business vans around Trenton. Nothing for anyone to note as strange, no reason for anyone to alert authorities about. No hope for police intervention then, unless I managed to contact someone with Scrog around me. Even then, the only cop I had on speed dial was Morelli and I doubted after the whole stun gun incident he would be too eager to help.

"Get in." Scrog told me, once again pushing the gun uncomfortably into my spine. I started forward to open the door to the back with a shaky hand, but paused. A large truck was coming towards us; way too fast for the parking lot and it didn't take me long to realize what the driver was going for. I jumped back in time for the truck to smash into the side of the van, sending the van careening off to the side. The driver revved their engine and backed away from the van. I recognized Connie as the driver as she gunned the engine towards Scrog, apparently keen on running him over.

Scrog cursed, pulling himself out of the way and unto the other side of the truck, out of arm's reach of me. He ran towards the van and forced the rumpled driver's door open and sped off, obviously worried about the loud noise caused by the accident. Connie jumped out of the car and fired off some shots in the direction of the van but it had turned the corner with none of them hitting.

"What the hell?" I asked her, willing my heart to slow down. I placed a cautionary hand on my stomach, wondering about the baby. Certainly all the people gunning for my death would not be good for the child. Connie grinned at me and looked back at the truck. The hood was rumpled pretty badly but otherwise seemed okay.

"Borrowed it from my cousin Mario, he works over at airport security." This would explain how she was able to keep a Glock in her carry-on bag.

"Probably he won't be too happy with the new detail work." I stated, voice falsely calm. My heart rate had gone down some and the adrenaline was slowly leaving my bloodstream, but as my fear evaporated some, anger took its place. I was tired of people grabbing onto me or shooting at me or trying to kill me in any way. All I wanted was a normal, stress-free pregnancy with the father supportive at my side and my family beside me. Didn't I deserve some normalcy?

"It still drives. I'm sure he can borrow some money from Uncle Lorenzo to get it fixed if it bothers him too much." Connie's uncle Lorenzo was a well known loan shark in Trenton and was rather well known for his generosity, both in money loans for the desperate enough and bullets for the stupid enough to cross him. I didn't know if he showed leniency in lateness for family and I didn't think Cousin Mario would be happy at having to find out.

"You okay? You need to go to the hospital or anything?" Connie asked me, suddenly peering at me worriedly. "Batbaby okay and all?" I nodded and gently sat into the passenger seat, my hands shaking. Connie got into the seat beside me. "Where to?" she asked me quietly. I thought for a moment. While it would be nice to visit my apartment, I was worried that Scrog had headed out there, and although the thought of mooching food from my parents and seeing Rex, dealing with my undoubtedly by now drunk mother was an unpleasant thought. Morelli was permanently out of the picture and that left only one place. I gulped back my fear and urged myself on by saying it was better to face the inevitable.

"Take me to the Rangeman office building. I'm going to talk to Ranger." Connie seemed to smile at me proudly as she gunned the engine and carefully maneuvered the totaled front of the car out of the parking lot. She drove way too fast for me to face my fears. Ranger was going to be at the office building and no doubt would he be absolutely livid. I was pregnant, I had ran, word got out that Morelli was the father, Scrog was out, and now I would be returning into his life to tell him that not only was there a second batbaby on the way, I had also met and narrowly escaped from Scrog. I was going to send the poor man to an early grave.

We were idling in front of the gated parking lot way too early for my comfort and were waiting for the merry men to take note of us and allow us in, seeing as I had conveniently forgotten my key chain at my apartment when I took off for upstate New York. It didn't take long for the gate to slide silently forward and I got out of the car. "Thanks Connie." I said into the open window, wishing desperately that I could slide back into the seat and tell her to floor it out of the country.

"No problem, Steph, good luck with Batman and all that." She winked at me as I groaned and backed her way out into the street. I braced myself and slowly and cautiously entered the lot. It was silent as I passed the Rangeman Enterprise standard cars. Ranger's personal fleet was all parked neatly in his three allotted spots which meant he was here, no doubt watching me. I nearly shrieked when hands wrapped around me for the second type and very quickly broke away, not even registering the softer grip, and tackled the person before me.

I caught a wisp of the Green Bulgari scent that I loved and could feel the soft chuckle vibrate in the chest below me. Ranger's dark brown eyes looked up at me, slightly amused as he brushed a lock of curls behind my ear gently. "Babe," he said softly, his lips twitching upwards at me as his hand moved down from my face to rest possessively on my stomach. Then he kissed me.

* * *

Finally, the long awaited meeting! And a slight cliffie but only a little. I decided that it was rather too early for Scrog and in the books, generally speaking, Stephanie has several run ins with danger before the main climax of action so I figured this would work. And I wanted car destruction. You always have to have car destruction. Any way, originally I was going to end this chapter on the "babe" part but figured that would be a little mean. If any of you are thinking its out of character for Ranger at the moment, I'm going on that he's relieved that Stephanie is back and doesn't know about the airport incident yet. I hope you liked it and thank you for reading. Please feel free to tell me if anyone was out of character or if there's anything you want in the story, next chapter will be the long awaited Stephanie/ Ranger interaction and I would appreciate any ideas you have on it. Thanks again and I'll update as soon as possible.


	9. Conversation

The kiss was deep but soft, more of a slow and romantic one then the normal heated tempestuous ones we had shared in the past. It was a nice change, more reassuring, like the ones he would press against the back of my ear, than the normal ones. We broke apart slowly, his hand still lightly pressed against my stomach and me still laying on him. Probably we should get up before Rangeman employees from the control room came to gawk, but I couldn't bring myself to get up. Ranger's body was warm and comforting, his smell and frame familiar to me. I didn't want to lose that quite yet.

"How'd you know?" I asked him quietly, gesturing towards his hand. I was rather curious as to when he found out and I knew the more I put emphasis on the child inside me, the more time I had between explaining to Ranger about Morelli and Scrog. And I wanted to know his take on the whole issue. It was rather obvious that he was at least a little bit supportive, if the kiss was any indication, but I needed to hear it from his mouth that he was going to be there for me.

"I knew when you left, that you were pregnant anyway. I didn't know it was mine until you went to Rachel's. Jake, by the way, is very eager to meet you again, babe. You made quite the impression." The corners of his mouth were twitching as I blushed.

"Not another word about that." I told him, pointing a finger at him threateningly. Ranger smirked slightly in response and flipped us, making me squeak loudly, so that he was on top. Stupid men, always wanting to be in control. His eyes darkened momentarily and he kissed me again, pressing himself solidly against me. I shuddered lightly and he backed up, hand lazily splayed against my stomach. I got the distinct feeling that would be a frequent gesture for the next eight months.

"Fine," he told me and his eyes were light again, his tone serious. I gulped, knowing what was coming up. The talk. I hated the talk. "We won't talk about that. What do you want to do?" His eyes bored into me as he spoke, telling me I was completely in control of our situation. He wasn't going to tell me what he wanted, and since I had no idea what I wanted, I didn't know what to tell him. I knew how he felt about marriage and just the thought gave me hives. It had been different when the ring was fake, and the name change meant nothing, but I wasn't ready for the real thing. I wasn't ready for a child either, and I knew Ranger had never wanted another child. Yet the idea of giving it up was inconceivable, and abortion was out of the question. Well-developed Catholic guilt pretty much threw that out the window.

Suddenly, Ranger's very closeness was a distraction. The gentle fingers tickling my stomach, the feel of his toned body, those dark eyes waiting for me, they were all too much all of a sudden. "I can't think. Please." I told him. He got the message and slowly stood up, holding a large hand out for me. I stuck my tongue out in response and scraggily pushed myself up. I was pregnant, not handicapped. Ranger looked amused at my response but made no attempt at talking. Obviously the ball was still in my court. He leaned against the nearest car, his truck, and waited.

"I don't know what I want," I told him, suddenly nervous. What if he didn't agree with me? Sure, he had seemed affectionate to our child, but what if he still wanted to get rid of it? Put it up for adoption? I couldn't do that, it was a little person inside of me, someone we'd created. I couldn't give that up, even if Ranger wanted nothing to do with it, even if he or she was an accident. "I'm not ready for a child, Ranger. I'm scared I'll be a horrible mother or I'll get them killed because I'm so incompetent. I can't cook, I live in a one bedroom apartment and my salary can barely support me on a good day, how am I going to take care of another person?" I asked. I wanted him to say something, but he remained silent, no help at all.

Part of me appreciated the complete independence I was given, another part wanted to throttle Ranger for at that moment being the Man of Silence. Dammit, I needed answers! "But I want to keep it," I continued, my anger making me bold. "I know you never wanted another child and to you he or she might be another burden on you, but I just can't think about giving it up to someone else." No emotion from Ranger. "We created him or her," I continued softly, "and even if I lose you, I don't want to lose them." I bit my lip, ashamed of the tears that had welled up in my eyes. Stupid hormones.

Warm arms wrapped around me and before I'd even realized it, I was crying into Ranger's shoulder. "Never be afraid you'll lose me babe," he whispered. "I'll always be here." I could hear the slight amusement as he spoke, "Always your batman." I laughed despite myself.

"I don't want another Julie." I warned him when my traitor tears had finally stopped. Ranger brushed hair out of my face in response.

"They won't be. I was young and foolish. And I didn't love Rachel." He added and I smiled.

"I don't want to get married." I laid down. "Not right now." Maybe not ever. Ranger just nodded in response.

"Too much paperwork, babe." I agreed. "But what's your mother going to say?" I imagined my mother's face, pinched and irritated at the thought of an illegitimate grandchild and winced.

"She told me to stay safe and marry the bastard that got me pregnant. Maybe we'll get married." I conceded. Ranger stayed silent for a moment.

"You have a scary family, babe." I agreed fully with that statement. "We have to get a new house." He added. I didn't much like the thought but I knew it was true. As much as I loved my apartment, it was much too small to comfortably hold a family and Ranger's although significantly larger, was at the top of the Ramgeman building. Probably the Merry Men wouldn't appreciate their beauty sleep being interrupted by mini-Ranger or a little Rangette.

"You have to get a different car." I told responded. "I'm not driving our baby around in a car that looks like a drug dealer's." Ranger nodded, probably already having a car shipped down from whatever third world country he smuggled them into. "I'm not giving up sugar." I added.

"I didn't think so. Full on disease couldn't make you give up sugar. You'll have to stop bounty hunting for a while." I nodded.

"Until the baby's born. Then I'm back."

"We are never leaving the child with your family for more than an hour. Ever. Your grandmother will have it lifting up coffin lids before it can walk." This was true.

"We aren't leaving it with your Merry Men either. I won't have my child knowing how to shoot a gun before it can talk. Or know how to kill a man in ten different ways before he can recite the alphabet." Two people could play the game. There was a beat of silence as Ranger contemplated my new bargain.

"Fine. We'll hire someone. We will have to live together." I nodded, agreeing readily to that. Living with Ranger out of wedlock would be highly sinful, but me and the baby would probably be safest with him. And the idea of a closer relationship excited me more than was probably healthy.

"You have to be there for things. No more unexpected trips to third world countries for extended periods of time." I wanted to say no going in the wind whatsoever but I doubted even a Batbaby could stop Batman from saving the world.

"No more running away. Ever." I thought about it for a moment. Probably if I ran away, it would be for a good reason, like if Ranger ever found out about Morelli.

"I don't particularly want to make a blanket statement that lasts forever. I'll keep the running to a minimum." Ranger seemed resigned for that being the best I was going to offer him because he nodded. We stood in silence for a moment, wondering what else to lay down in our new found relationship. We had covered the basics. "I suppose that's it for now." I told him. He simply raised an eyebrow at me.

"Not quite, babe. Jake mentioned a rather interesting find at a local car rental-ship in Miami. Mind explaining why Morelli was handcuffed to a pole and two women matching yours and Connie's description were seen leaving?" Damn Batman and his damned ESP.

* * *

So, I really liked writing this chapter. Sort of calm after the last few, but also important, yes? I really enjoyed writing all of the 'bargaining' they were doing with each other because I could see them doing it in the actual series as they are both always slightly vying for control. I hope Ranger was still in character (I wanted him to be silently supportive) and wasn't too out there. Same with Stephanie. I did leave it on a cliffie slightly but not too bad. Next chapter will obviously be angry Ranger. I hope you liked it and thanks for reading, I'll update as soon as possible.

P.S. Fun Question: What was your favorite "condition"?


	10. Disagreement

"Umm…well…" I could honestly say I was stalling. I didn't want Ranger to know about Morelli and all the problems that had arisen from our last meeting. But now Ranger was looming, suddenly alarmingly large as he leaned against his truck, waiting expectantly. He wanted answers that I didn't' want to give. And I knew who would win. "You see, it's kind of a funny story. Morelli got air records and came for me in Miami. We had a fight and I might have let it slip that I was… umm…" I gestured towards my stomach helplessly and Ranger raised an eyebrow.

"Expecting?" he offered, the slightest trace of amusement gained from my inability to say the word. I glared at him in response. Damn him for getting amusement out of this, it wasn't funny and I knew soon enough he wouldn't be laughing either.

"Yeah, that thing. Any way he may have gotten it into his head that I was pregnant with _his _baby and before I could rectify that mistake he was detained by Connie." I figured Ranger wouldn't want to be bothered with pointless facts so I left out that Morelli was drunk or had struck out at me. Ranger continued to stare at me for a moment before speaking.

"Why did he need to be detained, babe?" He wasn't amused anymore. Instead he was staring at me intently, probably trying to glean the information from my mind. I looked away before his bat-powers could take effect. Batman was only supposed to have kick-ass gadgets and a sick car. It wasn't fair that mine also had Jedi mind powers too. The universe was unbalanced when that happened. "What happened, babe?" He was closer now, a few inches away from me and I was nervous. I was good at lying, that and instinct were my greatest assets in the bounty hunter business, but I couldn't lie to the best. Ranger would know and then I would be in trouble.

"Well, he was drunk?" I offered, hoping that would be enough. Ranger made a small noise deep in his throat, similar to a growl, but his face remained expressionless. Obviously, he wasn't going to let this go. "And he – he might have tried to hit me." I mumbled to the ground, hoping he didn't hear. There was a stretch of silence as Ranger contemplated my words.

"Repeat that." I could hear the anger in his voice, the deadly tone that could very well be a death sentence. I bit my lip. I didn't want to be with Morelli – he was an egotistical, womanizing ass – but I didn't want him dead either. And I didn't want Ranger to be a killer. Well, anymore than he already was. "Stephanie." His voice was low, demanding and I shook silently, worrying over what Ranger would do. "Stephanie Plum." Ranger tried again and I broke.

"I'm scared of what you will do, Ranger. I don't want you to hurt him." I looked up to meet his gaze. His eyes were dilated black again, shadowed with his anger, and his body was a solid mass of anger. I knew that Ranger would never hurt me, would never try to, but I winced away from him slightly, barely noticeable to me, but enough for Ranger.

"He tried to hit you?" Low, definitely not a question. No doubt my cringe had been enough of an indication as my actual words. I nodded reluctantly. "I'll kill him." Ranger declared matter-of-factly and turned to head into the building.

"No!" I grabbed his arm and pulled him back into place. Ranger glared at me and I nearly released his hand but I forced myself to keep onto it, telling myself Ranger would never hurt me. "Please, I hate Morelli. He's scum. But I don't want you to kill him! I don't want that on you! Please!" Ranger paused for a moment and his eyes softened a fraction.

"Fine. I won't kill him." I would have been relieved but Ranger still had a sort of hardness in his face that worried me. "I just want to have a word with him." He turned away from me before I could respond and was already heading back into the building before I could stop him. "Having a word" was not an expression I associated with Ranger or Morelli. Shoot outs and bar fights, maybe, but definitely not talk.

"Ranger! Ranger! Stop and look at me!" I raised my voice as he carried on throughout the building, heading swiftly towards the elevator. He was much faster than me and I was almost running to catch up, gaining many curious looks from the Rangemen around us. I ignored them and kept my eyes trained on Ranger's back as he ignored my pleas. Desperate to stop him, I pulled out my last card. "Ricardo Carlos Manoso! You listen to me, dammit!" I had never called Ranger by his full name, never had cause or want to, and the effect was nearly instantaneous.

I gulped as Ranger turned to face me. He seemed a mixture of annoyed and amused, all placed thinly over the anger he still obviously felt. "Babe?" His voice was still low, still dangerous and I braced myself to talk him out of this.

"This isn't necessary. I can deal with Morelli myself you don't need to get involved." I was aware that the Merry Men were watching us intently, obviously hoping to glean their daily dose of amusement from us two. Ranger noticed to, and turned sharply down a hallway, towards his office. I followed him, ducking my head at the grins from the men and flipping a few off for their comments. I was already pregnant, I wasn't going to Ranger's office for round two, jackass.

"Shut the door." I obliged Ranger and let the door shut behind me with a sharp crack. Ranger was leaning against his desk, face hard again. As soon as the door snapped shut, he was next to me, head dipping down slightly to cover the three inches' height difference. "I know that you want to deal with problems on your own Stephanie," Ranger rarely called me by my full first name and the sound caused shivers down my spine but I forced myself to focus on my words, "but he nearly hit you and that's unacceptable."

"It's been handled." I mumbled, looking down at my feet. Stunning him and running wasn't exactly 'handled'.

"That doesn't matter. You are pregnant with my child and any man that dares try to harm a hair on you is going to pay. I'm not backing down from this, babe." The sad part was that I didn't want him to. I wanted to have someone willing to fight to protect my honor, someone willing to do things for me. But I didn't want him to hurt Morelli, I didn't want him to get in trouble for me. Morelli was a cop and no matter how different all the cops might be, it was a general consensus that hitting one wasn't allowed. But I also knew that I couldn't stop Ranger from doing it. He couldn't stop me from making a fool out of myself with bounty hunting and I couldn't stop him from beating the shit out of people that threatened me. It was the basic founding of our relationship.

"Take me with you." He raised an eyebrow at my sudden change of argument. "Take me when you go to talk to Morelli."

"The last time you, me, and Morelli were in the same room together, I was illegally stunned and dumped off at a hospital, babe." I placed my hands on my hips and glared up at him. It was a stance I was well used to, having seen hundreds of times from my mother who had in turn learned it from my Grandmother. Despite his anger, Ranger grinned down at the sight of me. "You got that stare down babe. I'll take you with me; leave your stun gun in my office." I glared at him but did as I was told and placed my stun gun and gun on his desk. He opened the door and held it out for me before following me out of the room.

I let Ranger in front of me in the hallway, worrying my lip all the way down to the parking lot. Quite easily this whole confrontation could get violent and there was no way I was strong enough to break up a fight between the men, especially in my current state. To be honest, I was only going with Ranger in hopes that my being there was enough to stop him from full-on beating Morelli to death. Or shooting him, strangling him, stabbing him, or any other murderous act Ranger was able to commit with his temper. I only thanked my stars that he didn't know about Scrog yet. Maybe he didn't have to know. Probably it wouldn't be good for the balance in his body. No need to worry him like that, anyway.

* * *

So, liked? Hated? Hopefully it was realistic. Ranger would be angry at Morelli but at the same time, wouldn't take it out on her, hence the anger but also calmness with Stephanie. Also, I don't think Stephanie has called him by his first name ever in the book and very rarely does Ranger so I'm sure it would surprise the other when one does it. So, what does everyone want to see in the next chapter? Obviously, confrontation with Morelli, but a full on fist fight or should Stephanie be able to keep it from escalating? Public or private? Should Ranger find out about Scrog next chapter? Anything else you want added? Thank you for reading and I'll update as soon as possible.


	11. Confrontation II

The ride in the car was silent but it wasn't the normal silence that accompanied us. It was stiff and formal and I drummed my fingers nervously as Ranger rolled down the streets, heading towards Morelli's house. I hoped he wasn't home and silently prayed to God that he was at Pino's or Giovinchi's Deli. Somewhere public and hopefully populated with enough off-duty cops to stop them should it get out of control. Which was very likely, in retrospect. I had no idea what was going to happen and had realized that the moment I had gotten into the car.

I didn't want to risk physically stopping the fight again. I knew I was pregnant now and the idea of putting the baby in danger like that again was terrifying. Plus Ranger had made me leave my stun gun, the only weapon I'd be willing to use on him, and my gun which I might have used on Morelli, on Ranger's desk at Rangeman. I was unarmed.

Ranger pulled into Morelli's driveway and with a nearly silent groan, I realized Morelli's pick-up was neatly parked in the still open garage. Fuck. I turned to Ranger, hoping to see hesitation or compassion in his gaze as he watched Morelli slip out of the truck. His face was constructed of hard lines, unreadable. There was no getting out of this. Morelli had already spotted us and was heading, slowly but purposely, towards Ranger's Bronco. Ranger unbelted himself and reached for the door but I stopped him before he could open it.

"Gun." I told him, pointing towards the dashboard. Ranger stared back at me unfazed. I leveled my gaze to his and gave him the worst glare I could muster. "Leave your gun in this car, Ranger. Now." I couldn't remember the last time I had been quite so forceful with Ranger. Most likely never and the sheer effort of keeping my cool had me nearly sweating. Ranger stared at me for a few more moments before finally removing the gun from the holster on his belt. "The other one." I told him, fighting my calm and wondering when Ranger was going to snap at me. He didn't say anything but pulled another gun from his arm holster and placed it down. "Knife too."

"Babe." Ranger said, eyes a dark shade of black. I gulped but stared back determinedly. It was a battle for a few moments, both of us fighting for the win. He didn't want to go bare-armed, I didn't want him to kill Morelli. It was a struggle of ethics. Ranger took a brief look out the window, towards Morelli who was standing a precautionary few feet back, hand placed on his hip, where I knew he kept his gun. Ranger slid the sheathed knife from his boot, glared slightly at me, and opened the door. "Stay here."

I waited a few moments, until Ranger had crossed the distance towards Morelli, before scrambling out of the car to follow him. There was no way I was letting them within three feet of each other alone. Ranger turned back and stared at me, slight annoyance in his stormy expression, before turning back to Morelli.

"What is this about?" Morelli ventured cautiously, eyes darting slowly between me and Ranger. He was cool and slightly despondent, stone faced. He was all cop today, then. "Stephanie?" He addressed me coldly, angrily. I winced.

"You nearly hitting her." Ranger told him, a false sense of calmness in his tone, as he stared down Morelli. Morelli flinched as if Ranger had hit him. Probably that would happen sooner or later, I wasn't holding my breath that Ranger would hold his temper much longer.

"That was an accident, and moreover, none of your business." Morelli expressed coolly towards Ranger before turning towards me. "But I am sorry, Steph, I was drunk and angry. You know I would never actually hit you. Especially with you pregnant with our child." He looked pleadingly at me and for a moment I felt an ounce of pity. Then I remembered the hand that had nearly come down on my face and my compassion dissipated.

"No I don't Morelli. I don't know if you would ever do it again. Especially since it's _not_ your child." I finished, angry and wanting to hurt Morelli. He stared for a moment at the two of us before he managed to put two and two together and his face turned an ugly purple color.

"You're pregnant with Manoso's child?" He yelled angrily, failing his hands pathetically. I nodded, expecting an even larger blowout. I was quite surprised when he deflated and instead of yelling, stared at me through pathetic, crushed eyes. "How could you? After all we've been through? With Ranger?" I bristled at his tone. It was accusatory, more so than should have been allowed. Yes, I had gotten knocked up by someone else but he knew about the relationship and had been relatively resigned about it. Until now.

"Excuse me, you don't own me, we haven't been through nearly enough for you to say something like that, and yes with Ranger. Who else would I have slept with?" Probably I had walked into the insult I knew Morelli was just dying to throw, but I still bristled indignantly when he said it.

"I don't know Stephanie, could be anyone the way you ply yourself around the town like a Rangeman whore!" I shrieked at him angrily, something unintelligible and perhaps not really human sounding and before I could stop myself, punched him square in the face. Blood gushed from his nose and I felt a savage pleasure at seeing him staring at me shell-shocked, blood dripping absently into his mouth.

"How dare you! I've only ever slept with you since our relationship, and Ranger since _you _decided it would be best for us to have an open relationship. God only knows how many women you have welcomed into your bed in the last year! Even if you were the father, I wouldn't marry you because you are just like any other Morelli man! An abusive, womanizing drunk!" Morelli looked like I had slapped him and perhaps a part of me, the part that still loved him, felt like my words had been enough, but the larger part carried on, determined to get it all out at once.

"I'm glad Ranger is the father! Because if it was you, I would be raising the child on my mine but Ranger will actually be there! I can still live my life with Ranger! You would confine me and cheat on me!" I would have continued but Ranger had placed a hand on my shoulder and I realized that I was suddenly crying angry, frustrated tears. I couldn't find the heart to keep yelling at Morelli and instead glared at him silently. He too was speechless and after a few seconds, it was Ranger that broke the silence.

"If you ever hurt Stephanie or our as of yet unborn child, cop or not Morelli, I will track you down and kill you where you stand." Ranger turned around at his abrupt and threatening parting message and gently led me towards the car and away from the man who I had once thought I would share the rest of my life with. The car ride was silent as we both contemplated the confrontation.

"Babe." Ranger finally said as he parked into the Rangeman lot , amusement evident in his voice. "I thought I was the one to be worried about." He turned to me and was full on grinning, not a soft smirk, not a hint of a smile, but a full on grin. I blushed before glaring half-heartedly at him.

"Thanks for the support." I told him sarcastically. His smile widened.

"Seemed like you had it under control. That right hook was probably your best I've seen, Babe." I blushed further.

"It's the stupid hormones. And it's all your fault because you went and knocked me up!" I told him, still a little aggravated at the whole situation. Ranger laughed, a full on chuckle, and pulled me in for a kiss. It was different from our last one, searing rather than soft, and his hands traveled to my still thankfully thin waistband. I moaned into the kiss and Ranger smirked when he pulled away.

"It takes two to create a baby, Babe." He told me. Boy, didn't I know that was the truth. I pulled him in for another kiss, inwardly blaming the new hormonal imbalance inside me. That and I had an inverted desire to sleep with Ranger as many times as possible before I became fat. A Jersey girl has her priorities after all. All the while, his hand stayed resting on my stomach, as if gently reassuring our batbaby he was there, would always be there.

* * *

I really hope this chapter was up to everyone's standards. I know a lot of you wanted a Ranger/Morelli fight and originally that was what it would be but once I began writing, I couldn't stop imagining Stephanie hitting Morelli. I hope you all enjoyed it and don't worry, the Scrog incident will be addressed next chapter. Also, I hope the ending part with Ranger touching Steph's belly at least counted for some sort of inference to his reaction to the baby but I plan on doing a little more of it in the next few chapters. Any requests or ideas? Thank you for reading, I'll update again as soon as possible.


	12. Revealed

"No." Ranger's voice was final, absolute. And every bit as annoying as I knew he could be. He stood a foot or so away from me with his arms crossed, hair still slightly damp and the slight scent of Bulgari Green wavered off of him from his morning shower. Probably I should have left while he was in the shower with a note but I figured Ranger would send the alarm and have me tracked down before I was a block away. And I might have wanted a brief glimpse of a fresh Ranger. Sue me.

I crossed my own arms against my chest and stared resolutely back. The confrontation with Morelli had taken place yesterday and I was eager to let my life return to normal. Or, relatively normal at least. "Why? It's not overly strenuous or particularly dangerous. I just want to stop at my apartment and hang out with Lula and Connie at the office. Public and boring."

"Too open. And Scrog knows about both of those locations." Yeah, but most likely Scrog was still staying off major roads and licking his wounds from his meeting with Connie. Not that I would tell Ranger that. The quickest way of making sure I was locked into Ranger's apartment for life was to tell him I'd met and only just escaped from Scrog. I was naïve, but not even I was that stupid.

"I need clothes!" I gestured towards my rumpled outfit, an oversized shirt of Ranger's and some shorts I had left here sometime in the past. "I can't just keep wearing yours all the time!"

"Unnecessary risk. Scrog could be staking out the place. Ella can pick up some clothes for you in the meantime." He looked at me calmly. His face was blank but I took his words as a challenge. I would get him to let me leave, even if it killed me.

"I got to take care of Rex. He's never gone this long without someone there." So I fibbed. I was getting desperate and Ranger wasn't a cruel person. He wouldn't let Rex suffer, even if he was actually most likely scampering on his wheel and happily munching on some food in my mother's kitchen. Ranger just raised an eyebrow at me.

"Nice try, Babe. Your hamster's life is more important to you then your own at times. He's sitting happy on your mother's counter. Anything else?" Damn that smug bastard. I had no other legitimate reasons. For a moment I was stumped, but then an idea came to me. I didn't have any practical reasons but I could probably force up some emotional ones. Ranger was a man and more so, a completely stoic man who had an unheeded awkwardness around overwhelming emotions. And I was a knocked up Catholic-raised Jersey girl who was being denied what she wanted. I had plenty of overwhelming emotions to share.

"Fine." I told him, pretending to angrily concede defeat, throwing my hands up in a flourish. "I just wanted something that was at least semi-normal to keep me from thinking about having a murderous psychopath out for me but apparently that's too much to ask for, isn't it?" I rather felt bad for Ranger. My antics were harsh and probably uncalled for seeing as he only wanted to keep me safe, but I was going to go crazy in the apartment. And then it would be worse.

"Babe." Ranger said, suddenly just slightly cautious. He had been around pregnant women before and he had also seen me in a temper tantrum. Me as a pregnant woman was probably a whole other ball game.

"Don't. I understand. I'll just Lula about the baby on the phone. That's how I had to tell my mother anyway." I stalked away from Ranger, silently counting in my head. I reached ten before he called me back. I turned back to see him standing there, definitely annoyed but wisely keeping his mouth shut, holding a pair of keys in his hand.

"I'll drive you to your apartment and drop you off at the office with a Rangeman to babysit you. Just never do that again." I smiled inwardly. Batman – 0. Hormonal Wonder Woman – 1. This was just too easy. The one good thing about being pregnant, I supposed. For nine months women put up with increased weight, back pains, swollen ankles, and a little person kicking you from the inside out and making all the comfy sleeping spots uncomfortable. But they also got unswerving loyalty from whatever poor bastard knocked them up. A good trade.

I hurried through my apartment as fast as I could, trying to grab everything before Ranger changed his mind and took me back to the office to sit and behave. I found my extra bullets in the bottom of my cookie jar, grabbed a bagful of clothes and basic utilities, and made my way to the kitchen to grab the half-empty jar of peanut butter because I had run out of my emergency stash at Ranger's apartment.

I took a quick shower and changed from Ranger's oversized shirt to a pair of my best dark jeans and a silver tank top that was cut a little too low for me but had been cute enough and affordable. Not my normal outfit but I was showing off a bit before my stomach swelled past the ability to wear the shirt. I teased my hair minimally and added makeup before grabbing my bag and racing back down to the parking lot.

Ranger had opted to wait in the car once he had done the initial check on the apartment and was patiently waiting when I finally got back into the car. He gave me an appraising look, stopping slightly at my chest before returning to my face, an eyebrow raised. I shrugged. "It was new and I wanted the chance to wear it before I got too big." Ranger nodded and slid his Porsche smoothly out of the parking lot and into the streets.

It took us nearly thirty minutes to get to the office and we finally did, I jumped out of the car excitedly. Although I dreaded telling Lula she hadn't been the first to know about the batbaby, I was still happy enough to talk to her about it. Nothing like unexpected pregnancy advice from a former hooker to get a girl excited. Ranger walked beside me as we entered the building and I wondered when he was going to leave. The less time he spent here, the lesser of a chance there was for Connie to let slip the Scrog incident.

As soon as we entered the door, I was bombarded by a large woman in bright orange clothing. Lula was wearing a skin tight orange dress that showed off a mile of cleavage and barely covered her ass and black tie around heels about five inches high. A typical work outfit for the average former hoe, I supposed.

"White girl, why the hell didn't you tell me? You know I would have kept your secret, 'specially from Batman over there." She pointed to Ranger who was smiling slightly in the corner, watching the scene as he waited for the merry men to arrive. "You for sure preggers?" I nodded. I hadn't had an official doctor's appointment yet but ten different pregnancy tests from various brands didn't lie. Lula whistled. "And Batman's letting you out of the batcave? I would have thought he'd get Alfred to set up his own hospital." Please Lula, don't give him ideas.

"Screw that part." Connie said, leaning over her desk to get a better look at me. "I'm surprised he let you out after what happened at the airport." My eyes widened and I frantically shook my head, but it was far too late, Ranger was already staring at me suspiciously.

"Anything you forgot to mention, Babe?" He asked coolly, arms crossed. I turned and glared at Connie, blaming her for getting me into this mess. Connie stared back at me, her fire red lips opened into a perfect 'o'.

"He didn't know about Scrog?" She asked. I could feel Ranger's eyes burning in the back of my head and I ignored it.

"No! No he didn't!" I said angrily before turning towards Ranger. He was staring at me coldly, eyes coal black and extremely menacing. Shit. He was pissed. Beyond pissed. And it was all directed at me. Double shit.

* * *

Sorry for the slight cliffhanger and I hoped you liked the chapter. I kind of liked writing sneaky Stephanie because I could totally see her using her emotions to get Ranger to do what she wanted like that. I hope you all liked how the Scrog information came out, because I was unsure on how it would fit into the chapter. I know a couple people wanted more Ranger/baby interaction so how would you want me to go about it? Do you want the Scrog threat to be the main part of the story with the baby on the side or do you want the baby to be the main deal with Scrog as a sort of side liner threat? I already have a bit of a surprise coming up for Ranger and Stephanie but does anyone mind if I spend the next chapter or so (after focusing on Ranger's extreme, extreme anger at Steph for keeping the airport incident from him) on baby/family things? Like more of the talk they had before, baby names, what gender they want, telling family, things like that? Any opinion/idea matters and is extremely appreciated! Thank you for reading and I'll update again as soon as possible.


	13. Discussion

"Outside." Ranger said before turning and swiftly leaving the room. I briefly considered not going but then realized that Ranger would not only drag me outside to speak to him but be even more royally pissed then he was now. So I left the room, crossing myself in the doorway, before turning into the back alley behind the bonds office, where I knew Ranger would be waiting. He was standing against the wall, arms crossed, half his face in shadows. From what I could see of his expression, he was probably angrier than I had ever seen him. A shiver ran down my spine as I stopped a precautionary foot away.

I knew he wouldn't hurt me, physically at least, but long-winded lectures from my mother had taught me to keep distance from anyone angry at me. And to stay away from dark, large men in alleys but I'd never been smart enough to heed to that rule. I knew Ranger had a right to be mad at me and that I could say goodbye to some of the trust built between us. I'd been stupid and lied to him and I knew the repercussions this time would be severe. I shivered in fear again as I waited for him to speak.

Several moments of silence passed between us and Ranger stared at me and I took to looking at his shoes. I was nauseous and was briefly considering if puking on his feet would be enough to forgo his anger for a bit. Probably not seeing as morning sickness wouldn't kill me and Scrog could. "Explain."Ranger finally said and I stared at his black tennis shoe bound feet as I began talking.

"He came up behind me in the airport. I had to use the bathroom when we got off so Connie had gone to get the luggage and I was alone. He took me to the parking lot and almost got me but Connie had seen us and borrowed her cousin's car to ram into the one Scrog was using and nearly got him until he raced off." I inwardly cringed at the words pouring from my mouth. Looking back, it had been extremely stupid not to tell Ranger. Not just for my benefit, but who knows what Scrog would do to the baby if he found out about it. I had been selfish and immature, I needed to grow up for the sake of my child. The idea terrified me more than it should have.

Ranger stayed quiet and it was his silence that scared me more than anything else. I could handle someone yelling, calling me stupid, telling me to grow the hell up, but the silent anger that came from him was far worse. The kind that said "I'm not going to tell you that you screwed up because you already know you did." Only Ranger could use that kind against me. "Why the hell did you keep that from me?"

I winced at the anger, cold and insurmountable. Absolutely terrifying. The question itself was just as bad. I didn't know the answer, or at least not the answer he wanted. I doubted he would appreciate being told he scared the hell out of me at the current moment. And the only other thing I could think of was my own stupidity. Although that qualified well enough as a reason, Ranger already knew and acknowledged that part. It wouldn't be a good enough answer, probably. But I would try. Admitting that I was sometimes afraid of the father to be wasn't that smart of a move.

"Because I'm a selfish idiot that needs to grow up." I told him. A partial truth, but one either way. I did need to grow up. We were going to have a baby in eight months and I still didn't know what that meant. Sure, I had given up skip tracing but obviously that wasn't enough to keep the baby safe. Probably I would have to move to a different country to be completely safe but telling Ranger when someone tries to kill me could generally be considered a step towards the right direction.

"Stephanie, look at me." I was still looking at the ground as I thought, but I looked up at Ranger's commanding tone. He was looking at me angrily still and I was inwardly sweating as I waited for him to continue. "You aren't an idiot. You are brash, impulsive, lucky, overly independent, and potentially dangerous. But you aren't stupid. You need to learn that you don't have to take on the world by yourself. I can't protect you or the baby if you aren't willing to tell me." I winced.

"I'm sorry Ranger. I'll tell you from now on." I looked up at him, pleading slightly. I didn't want Ranger to be mad at me anymore. That and the fact that I distinctly felt like I was going to puke any minute now.

Ranger's eyes were still dark and as he took a step forward, I instinctively took one back. The action caused Ranger to hesitate slightly. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm trying to prevent you from getting hurt." I nodded. I did know that. I just couldn't stand being near someone like Ranger when he was angry. "You are going to be a mother, you need to decide what's best for the baby. I want him or her to live to be your granny's age, but I can't do it if they don't survive the womb." I winced at the thought. I didn't want our baby to die because I disliked the idea of being controlled. I hated it, but I knew what I would have to do.

"I'll tell you everything from now on. Even if its small or unimportant seeming, I'll tell you if anything strange happens. You can have people follow me, at least until Scrog's caught. Whatever you think is necessary." I hated saying it and probably Ranger could see the disgust at the idea because his lips twitched. His anger probably had dissipated some. "On one condition though." Ranger's eyebrow lifted. Probably he thought the condition was major. To him, it probably would be.

"You aren't in the position to be making conditions, babe." At least he was calling be "babe" again. Funny that I hated pet names from Morelli but wasn't comfortable when Ranger called me anything else. Probably because I never called Ranger by his actual name. "You will be under 24 hour surveillance whether or not I comply with your condition."

"It would be hard to have someone watch me at night if no one's sharing the bed with me." I told him blithely. I knew it was an empty threat, even if I didn't cave halfway through the night and make Ranger get in the bed, I was fairly certain Ranger would just wait until I was asleep and sneak into the bedroom. He was a sneaky bastard like that. Ranger just raised an eyebrow, also knowing exactly what would really go down if I ever banished him to the couch. I crossed my arms.

"You get what I mean. I won't fight your right to protect me and the baby but you have another thing coming if you think I won't make it a living hell of constant bitching for your men. It's not even a big condition, small actually." Small from my perspective anyway. Ranger seemed to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

"This is going to be a long pregnancy, babe." Yeah, he wasn't the one fighting nausea at the moment, he could bite it. "What's the condition?" He waited expectantly for me to begin. I gathered my thoughts for a moment, deciding that an explanation would probably help my defense.

"Well, you want me to prove to you that I will do anything to protect the baby, and I am willing to do it. I know that you would do anything to keep us safe. But I want you to prove that you can be there as a daddy too. Not just the father that gives financial support, a roof, food, and 24/7 bodyguards, but the daddy that pushes them on the swings, reads them stories. The daddy that will walk his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day or help his son pick a ring out for the girl of his dreams." Ranger stayed silent but his face wasn't stormy or angry, so I took it as a good sign.

"It's Sunday. Every Sunday my sister's family goes to my mother's house for a family dinner. I want you to go with me. Probably my mother already told my father and grandmother about the baby but Valerie might still be in the dark. I want you to be there when I tell everyone and spend the night with us as a family member. That's all." I stared pleadingly at him. After a moment in which he undoubtedly debated the benefits of a mass homicide should this prove disastrous, he nodded.

I grinned at him and threw my arms around him in a hug. It was a strangely intimate movement as I rarely hugged anyone like that, and I blamed the hormones. Another good thing about pregnancy, I could blame any strange behavior on hormones for nine months. "Thank you, I'm sorry. Thank you." Ranger just gently kissed my temple.

"I'm gonna regret it, but you're welcome babe." I smiled and kissed him softly. Not everything was forgiven and we still had many things to work out, but two more issues had been addressed and I know longer had to worry about Ranger finding out about Scrog. True, I was going to be dogged by enough expensive black vehicles that people would start thinking I was a drug dealer and lose some of my freedom, but it was a better trade than losing our baby. And I got Ranger to go to dinner with me, which was a good step towards slightly domesticating him.

It would be fruitless to try and completely domesticate him just as much as it would be for him to try on me, but a father being there to play with his child and then go flying into the night was better than the hero that never was home. And I got to see him try and survive a night with my whole immediate family which was pretty damn sweet.

* * *

Hopefully this was up to everyone's standards. I wanted Ranger to be extremely mad but I didn't want his anger to last. Also, I wanted to establish a more paternal connection between Ranger and Batbaby that extended absolute protection. I kinda like writing hormonal Stephanie so there will be quite a few blowouts between her and the merry men. Also, to clarify the last author note question, Scrog will still be a major concern, just not so much in the next couple chapters which I want to focus on the baby. If Scrog continues being a major threat, he would be dealt with before Steph's pregnancy "comes to term" and I don't want that. He'll still be the threat, I just want to extend the story to follow the whole pregnancy or at least the majority of it rather then the first two or three months. Is that okay? Or does everyone want him dealt with early on? I hope you enjoyed the chapter, thank you for reading, and I'll update as soon as possible.


	14. Dinner

"It's not going to be that bad." I said, slightly unsure which one of us I was trying to convince. I had called my mother a few hours ago to set two more plates out and Ranger and I were now sitting in his car, trying to convince ourselves to go in. Ranger turned and looked at me. "You're right." I admitted with a groan, "This is going to suck." Ranger's lips twitched slightly as he cut the engine and opened his door. For once, my mother and grandmother weren't waiting outside, probably too busy with Valerie's children or tippling in the kitchen. It was five minutes to six and my sister's family had been there for a good hour according to my mother when I called, so probably tippling.

I followed Ranger to the front door and opened it. Inside was chaos, which was a nice way to describe that everything had gone to hell. My sister Valerie had four children, Angela who was eleven and the perfect angel, Mary Alice who was eight years old and spent the majority of her time thinking she was a stallion, Lisa who was now two and took to climbing everything, and little Elizabeth who was a few months old and cried constantly. They were generally the reason I didn't particularly want children, they were cute to watch for a little bit but the thought of having one with me all the time gave me hives.

Now I was pregnant and watching Mary Alice being chased by her sister, remote in hand as she galloped away from the living room. Behind them, I could see my father in his armchair, eyes glued to his paper as Lisa tried climbing the bookshelf and Valerie tried to get Elizabeth to stop crying. This was what I had to look forward to. Or at least somewhat because there was no way in hell I was going to get knocked up three more times. One Batbaby was quite enough.

"Not that bad, Babe?" Ranger asked me and I shrugged.

"Actually, seeing as no one's trying to kill on either, aside from the girls, and Albert's still conscious," I pointed towards my sister's husband who was currently trying to mediate between the two girls to no luck, "it actually isn't that bad." I watched as Lisa managed to get her chubby legs up to the second shelf and reached for the third. I was quite impressed with her dexterity but figured it was probably best to save her before she tumbled down. "I'll get the two year old; you save Albert from the girls and get the remote to my father before he commits suicide. Or murder."

Ranger nodded and headed towards the girls. I watched for a moment as he bent down to speak face-to-face with the suddenly silent girls before turning my attention towards the demonic two year old. I gently grabbed her off the shelf, cringing when she wailed in protest. "Come on little one, you hungry?" I bounced her up a little bit and she immediately stopped crying. She was still pink-faced and tear stained but she nodded.

"Yes." I smiled down at her a little bit. Damn if little kid voices weren't adorable even when the rest of them were less than desirable. As I walked into the kitchen I glimpsed Ranger standing beside a very relieved looking Albert as they watched Mary Alice give my father the remote. I smiled, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Then I walked into the kitchen and my stomach turned at the smells. Normally, my mother's kitchen smelled wonderful to me, the scent of red sauces, cookies, and pineapple upside cakes bringing back cherished memories of my childhood, but now I felt nauseated. God damn pregnancy. My mother must have seen something on my face when she turned to greet me because she smiled slightly. "Nauseous?" I nodded. "Never happened to me with your sister but I was constantly sick carrying you. Serves you right for getting yourself knocked up." She added stiffly, staring me down. Probably she wanted to add more but my grandmother butted in.

"Oh lay off Helen, honestly if Stephanie wants to sleep with some hunk of a Latino and get pregnant, the hell with us for trying to stop her." She winked at me and I smiled. Leave it to Grandma to defend me at all times. "Besides I wouldn't have minded getting knocked up at her age, long as the man looked like Ranger." I blushed and my mother looked scandalized.

"It's six." I hastened to tell them, shifting Lisa slightly to be more comfortable. I dreaded moving things when I was swollen up and huge already. "Time for dinner." My mother's eyes widened and she hastily began barking commands as she grabbed dishes to set on the table and called loudly for dinner. As soon as the message was delivered, there was a scrambling of feet and my father entered the dining room first, closely followed by the older girls and then my sister, Elizabeth still whimpering pathetically in my sister's arms. Albert and Ranger followed at the rear, Albert smiling nervously and Ranger looking resigned to an amusing if not mentally scarring evening.

I slid Lisa into the high chair my mother had kept since my sister was born and sat beside Ranger at the end of the table. I was trying not to puke on my mother's good china when my sister addressed me.

"Thanks for the help you guys gave," She shot a questioning look towards Ranger but didn't say anything, "I appreciate it. All children are crazy at this stage, I can't wait until Lisa's out of it." I smiled at her. It was fairly obvious after speaking to my sister for two seconds that she had no idea I was pregnant. Probably my mother had her disconnect the phone line to keep the calls from coming through. I didn't know if I was happy because of that or ready to shoot my mother.

Food was passed around and my nausea from the kitchen had settled some and I thought I could actually manage to eat some before I told my sister the news. That was until Ranger, who was strictly avoiding anything that would 'disturb the balance' in his body, handed me the gravy. One smell was all it took to have my nausea back full force and I hastily ran for the bathroom, one hand over my mouth.

I made it just in time and proceeded to puke out my lunch. Damn. I hated that Ranger was right when he told me the fried chicken from cluck-in-the-bucket would come back to haunt me. Once I had emptied my stomach of all food substance and no longer felt the need to dry heave, I flushed the toilet and laid my head on the cool toilet seat. I didn't worry about germs because my mother would have killed all of them in a vengeance when there was nothing left to iron.

It was then that I felt Ranger's presence. Probably he had come in earlier but I had been too distracted upheaving my stomach to realize. He had my hair pulled away from my face and a soothing hand on my back. "I hate you," I told him half-heartedly and was treated to a gentle laugh. If I had to look forward to eight more months of this however, he wouldn't be laughing for long. "Do I have to go back?"

"I'm afraid so, Babe. Your sister is suspicious." I groaned. I had come fully expecting and prepared to tell Valerie I was pregnant but the actual action was frightening. I didn't want to and the thought of it had my head spinning. So I chickened out.

"Can we leave? I thought I was ready but –" I looked up at Ranger then. I had a bad feeling now that the nausea was gone. Like something wasn't right and I could tell Ranger felt the same. That and the idea of telling Val had me wishing I had more to contribute to the toilet. Ranger took pity on me and nodded. He helped me get onto my shaky feet and led me carefully out of the room, one hand resting on my hip as we walked.

"Stephanie isn't feeling well," he told my family who were all standing outside the door, obviously waiting for the verdict. My mother shot me a dirty look that told me I had better explain why to my sister – I just smiled back weakly – my grandmother was smiling covertly behind her hand, my father looked pained, and my sister and Albert were staring at me concernedly along with Mary Alice and Angie. "I'll take her back to her apartment," my family nodded and I said my goodbyes, adding that I was sorry to not be able to stay and hinting to my sister that my mother had some family news to share. I got another glare for my troubles.

Rather than leaving me, the feeling of dread only grew when me and Ranger walked out the front door. Still, it took Ranger stopping and his low curse for me to see what was wrong. There was a bouquet of flowers – roses- on the hood of the Porsche, something that had definitely not been there. Before Ranger could stop me, I was at the side of the car and reaching for the white note attached. My name was written in block magazine letters that had been cut out. I paled once I flipped it open.

_Saw you today. Congratulations on the baby. I'll see you soon. _

"What baby? How come I haven't heard anything about a baby?" I dimly registered that Valerie was speaking and a small part wondered if I should be concerned about her tone. However, the majority of my mind was geared to one thing. The note was the same magazine clippings as the front was but the shiver down my spine and the cold sweat I was breaking into was indication enough. Scrog was watching me. Scrog was going to continue watching me. And….

He knew about the baby.

* * *

Sorry about the slightly late update, my sister is moving and me and my brother stayed the night to help her pack up her things. I hope you liked the chapter and if any of you are wondering, I decided to focus on the baby for the most part but still have Scrog around, taunting them and generally being Scrog. It will all make sense at the end, I promise. I kinda like how Val found out because I could see Steph chickening out. Although most likely she would already know given the Burg gossip but hey, creative license? I also liked writing about Ranger and Steph's treatment of Val's children because I think despite all of their quirks, they would make good parents together. Any way, as a heads up so that no one is confused, next chapter is going to skip up a little bit. This is so that I can include the surprise I mentioned in one of these notes a couple chapters back? Any guesses? Probably a few more will skip just to get into the thick of you for reading and I'll update as soon as possible.


	15. Unexpected

Quick warning, this skips a little ahead so it might be confusing, I apologize in advance for that. Onto story!

* * *

"I can't believe him!" I stormed from one side of the room to the other, wondering if it would be beneficial to hit the messenger. It was Tank though and that probably meant I would break my hand in the process. Still, I needed some way to vent my current frustration and hitting something seemed like the best way. Preferably Ranger but apparently he was too damn busy to even bother telling me himself that he wouldn't make it to the appointment with me. Fucking shit. I punched a throw pillow, knowing that anything harder would now doubt just hurt me. Tank looked at me alarmed.

"He'll make it as soon as he can." He told me, peering at me through anxious black eyes. Probably wondering if he could swindle combat pay for dealing with me. It would be hard though, if his boss is caught in a gruesome homicide. And I was tempted. It had been a little over a month since Scrog had placed those damned flowers on the car outside my parents' house and although I had been distinctly freaked out at the time, thirty days of constant surveillance and no sign of Scrog had numbed my worry about it. Ranger, however, was still fully concentrated on the search and had no decided to forego this extremely important doctor's appointment for a lead. Fucking bastard.

"I'm sure." I snapped back. I knew I wasn't being fair to Tank for just being the messenger. Or Ranger because all he was doing was trying to insure that if the lead was Scrog, Ranger was there to get him, but I was still unreasonably upset. After all, this was the first ultrasound for the baby, the first time we would get to see our child, and Ranger had _promised _he would be there. The fact that he wouldn't, especially because it was so unusual to have an ultrasound in the first trimester and I was freaking out about it, just had me irrationally pissed off.

Tank remained stoic and inwardly the rational part of my brain commended him on that. This was the man, after all, who fainted at the thought of marrying Lula. Not that I blamed him for that, Lula was probably too much woman for three men, let alone one. The larger, angrier part of me however, wanted to make him squirm, at least a little. Add another number to Ranger's list of men who were not responsible for me for the remaining seven months. Both Bobby and Hector were taken out rather quickly. Hector because I couldn't understand him and frankly was terrified of him. Bobby because he was terrified of me. Although I swear to God I didn't mean to set him on fire.

Tank led me silently into the parking lot and as he reached for the driver's door, I took my first chance. "No. Hell no." Tank looked at me, alarmed. I glared at him. "You aren't driving me to my goddamn appointment. If the stupid asshole that got me pregnant isn't up to driving, I'll drive myself." Tank looked like he wanted to protest but the glare I sent him shut him up. "And if you dare make some insensitive comment about the only woman driving you is in your bed I swear to God I'll shoot you in the family jewels with my taser." Tank's face momentarily slipped into panic before he schooled it quickly back into a calm façade and switched me places.

I slipped into the car and quickly revved the engine, bent on getting out of the Rangeman apartments before I did anything illegal or regrettable. It took thirty minutes to get to the office and I had calmed down some by the time I pulled into the parking lot. I shot an apologetic smile towards Tank and entered the office. It was small, white, and best of all, completely empty. Tank followed me close, one hand on his gun as he took in the empty room and I rolled my eyes at him before walking over to the secretary and smiling apologetically.

"Sorry Tina, his bark's worse than his bite." I told her. She gave Tank an appraising look and smiled shyly. Tank pointedly ignored her in response. "Appointment at one?" I told her and she turned and searched her computer.

"Yep, alright here Steph, go on back, Dr. Rozzi is waiting." I nodded and gave a parting smile.

"Tell your old man I said hi," I told her as we entered the back hallway. Tank shot me a look and I shrugged. "Tina Rossoli, Connie's little sister, graduated with her." He nodded and we resumed our silence. Yet again, I wished my stupid bastard boyfriend (lover, friend with benefits, fiancé, roommate?) was here instead. It would still be silent, but a much less tense one. It was obvious Tank didn't want to be the Rangeman stuck with the doctor's appointment and I would rather have any other. Stupid Scrog and his stupid obsession. I swear to god if I saw him I would shoot him. Repeatedly. Maybe that was just the hormones talking though.

Dr. Camille Rozzi used to be Camille Mazur before she got married and she was a second cousin on my mother's side. I smiled in greeting as she hugged me. "So, what's up today, Doc?" I asked, trying in vain not to seem nervous. She rolled her eyes at me.

"Weight and all that stuff, obviously, and then we will start your ultrasound. I assume that since this giant wall of a man is here instead of Ranger, something came up with him again?" That had been my excuse for about half my appointments, not that I had that many. I nodded.

"Business, Gotham City just doesn't wait. Not even for a pregnant woman." Camille laughed in response and began her normal checkup. I had gained a few more pounds and another inch on my waist since two weeks ago. Despite eating what I normally ate and exercising moderately (Ranger's orders) I had gained thickness in my waist that was uncommon this early in the pregnancy. I blamed water retention but Camille thought it was something else, hence the early ultrasound. What it could be was beyond me but she had assured me that the baby was most likely healthy.

"Alright, everything's normal." Camille said, taking the stethoscope out of her ears and writing down something. "Now to start the ultrasound." She grabbed some gel from her desk and led me to the hospital bed thing that was standard. I laid down obediently and lifted my shirt on her direction. Tank looked away and I rolled my eyes. It was just my stomach; I doubted Ranger would shoot him for seeing it. "Would you like a video of this to show your too-busy boyfriend?" Camille smiled teasingly at me and I stuck my tongue out in response. I was tempted to say no, that Ranger should have just gotten off his ass and came with me but I knew that wouldn't be fair and that most likely he would have come with me given the choice. So I nodded.

"Why not? Could use it as a guilt trip if necessary." Camille laughed in response and began applying the gel to my abdomen. I jumped at the cold and she laughed more. "Bitch." I accused lightly and she just smiled and grabbed the sensor thingy that would somehow allow the glimpse into my womb. The feeling was odd as she slowly ran the thing over my stomach but I ignored it as the screen kicked on and I caught the first look at my child. To be quite honest I didn't really see anything but a white lump but I was still glued to it. Lump or not, that was my baby and I would love it anyway.

For a few minutes it was silent as we all assessed the future batbaby. That was until the lump shifted some and another lump appeared just slightly behind it. Camille grinned as I stared at it. What the hell was that? It couldn't be what I thought it was? No way in hell!

"Well," Camille said, still grinning. "Looks like we have discovered the cause for the extra weight." Fuck. "Say hello to the little Manoso-Plum twins." Twins. Not one batbaby, two. I didn't even have a history of twins in my family tree, what the hell was this? Still though, looking at the two lumps that would be my babies, I felt a sense of excitement mixed in with the fear and worry. Also a little anger because I was going to kill Ranger for both knocking me up with two babies and for missing this moment. I would have loved to see his face.

"Twins? As in two?" Surprisingly it was Tank that had broken the silence and both Camille and I turned to look at him. He was staring at the screen, not stoic for once, but completely freaked out. Most likely thinking the world couldn't handle two children of mine and Ranger's genetics. I sort of related there.

"Yes, that is what the term 'twins' means. Are you okay?" Camille sounded worried as we stared at Tank. His eyes never left the screen.

"Oh fuck." He stated before fainting dead on the floor. Camille stared but I just smiled.

"Don't worry about that Cam, it happens a lot around me. Last time he was freaking out over his wedding and once another Rangeman fainted at seeing Val give birth. It's to be expected sometimes. I'll call Ranger and tell him." Seeing as I was still covered in the ultrasound goo, Camille dug out my phone for me and I dialed Ranger's cell laying down while she began wiping my stomach clean. Ranger picked up on the second ring.

"Babe?" He sounded concerned, or at least as much as Ranger could, and apprehension took over me. The thought of telling Ranger we had gotten yet another surprise rather than one was frightening. So I started on the easy part.

"Tank fainted again. Can you send a guy to come get him? Or two probably, seeing how big he is." There was silence on the other end. Then finally, sounding as if he was going to regret it, Ranger spoke.

"What did you do to him this time?" I stuck my tongue at the mouthpiece in response. "Don't stick your tongue out at me, you'll teach the child bad manners." Damn ESP. I bit my lip, trying to figure out how to break the news to him. I decided for blunt.

"Well, remember how I had to go in for an ultrasound because I was slightly bigger than average and they wanted to try and see why?"

"Yeah?"

"Well it turns out the extra weight isn't those donuts you warned me would go straight to my hips. We are having twins." Silence. Then finally…

"I'll be right there."

* * *

So, I really, really wanted double batbabies so I put them. Like I said, a surprise though hopefully not a bad one? I liked Tank fainting because I figured that at least one Rangeman would and I thought it would be fitting that it was Tank. I also liked Stephanie taking her frustration out on him and would just like to add that yes, her anger was unfounded because Ranger was trying to get Scrog, but she has high emotions (I think, pregnant women are quicker to anger yes? my aunt was) and I also thought that a woman would be mad if the father of her child wasn't with her during an important appointment like the first ultrasound. I have absolutely no idea how those things work so I hope I did it at least decently, I apologize for any mistakes. Also to clear something up, Valerie wasn't angry that Stephanie was pregnant, she was just surprised and a little upset that Steph hadn't told her, which I thought would be valid emotions if you were the last one to find out your sister was pregnant. I hope you liked the chapter and I have one question for all of you out there. Two boys, Two girls or a girl and a boy for the bat-twins? Thank you for reading, I apologize for the lateness and I'll update as soon as possible.


	16. Reactions

_Sorry for the extensive wait, my aunt took the internet away as punishment for not having my work done. I hope you like the chapter!_

* * *

Ranger stared at the screen with an unreadable expression. I was sort of disappointed at the lack of emotion. Maybe I shouldn't have told him on the phone, just had let be a surprise. I briefly imagined giving birth to twins without telling Ranger and the look on his face when he found out. I valued life so that option would never have gotten very far. But it was a nice thought.

Tank had been carried out by other Rangeman men to a different room where he could regain consciousness in peace and so it was only me, Ranger and Camille still in the room. And Camille was being conspicuously silent, watching Ranger slightly wary. I had no idea what she expected Ranger to do but I found myself holding my breath for him to speak too.

"Babe." He said finally, turning to me. It was a simple word, a sexist endearment more like, and yet it sent undeniable shivers down my spine. Ranger was undeniably good at putting meaning in words that had no right to be there. Right now, the simple endearment held a lot of things. Incredulousness. Worry. A touch of exasperation and amusement. Shock. It was slightly funny, and I laughed. Just a little.

The idea was ludicrous. I could barely take care of myself. I never had food in the fridge and most of the time I fed Rex before I fed myself. I barely went a year without being shot out, kidnapped, threatened, beaten, or any of the above. And Ranger, well, was _Ranger. _He was cool and quiet, loving in his own right and undeniably sexy. But he was also dangerous, possibly a murderer, he hired someone to cook for him, he would leave for god knows how long at times. He was a father but I couldn't quite see him canceling a mission to attend Julie's recital and I still didn't see how this family would be that much different from this one.

That's when I realized the laughter had turned to tears and Ranger was holding me so I could cry into his shoulder and Camille was discreetly closing the door to give us peace. Fuck, I didn't even know why I was crying. I was happy to have a child, but I was also afraid. Deeply afraid. I was afraid of hurting her or him, terrified that Ranger would leave us. Would go on a mission and never come back. That I would get one of those flags and a medal of honor. I thought I had dispelled those fears but with the knowledge of having two children to suddenly look after, they all came whirling back full force. I was scared all over again.

The crying continued for a good ten minutes while Ranger awkwardly but soothingly held me. The shoulder of his black t-shirt was soaked but he didn't seem to notice or if he did he didn't acknowledge it. Instead he stared calmly at me, waiting for me to speak. "I'm so sorry." I told him, shocked at how quiet my voice seemed. I was rarely, if ever, quiet. "I'm just so scared Ranger. Two children, two lives in our hands. It's a twenty four hour job for us to keep me safe, how are we going to look after two babies? And then they will be teenagers and then what? They are going to be just as foolish as me and get killed, or pregnant, or get someone else pregnant! I don't know when I'm doing what's right, how am I going to teach a child that? I'm going to be a terrible mother!"

And just like that, the tears were back and Ranger was rubbing my back once more. When they had subsided again, it was Ranger's turn to talk. He looked me right in the eye as he began, the dark eyes unusually fierce as he spoke, "there's nothing to be afraid of. Not a thing, babe. You are not an idiot, our children will be perfectly safe with you and me. I will always be there for you and them. No way in hell are they going to wind up pregnant or getting someone pregnant, and you are going to be a wonderful mother." Ranger kept staring at me as he spoke, eyes dark and fierce as he tried to get me to understand where he was coming from. I wasn't sure if I quite believed every word he said, but I felt reassured anyway. Even if I was mediocre, he would always be there to help me get our kids along.

"Fuck." I said as I wiped my eyes. I was crying again, albeit for a different reason, which Ranger apparently knew given the hundred watt smile he was throwing my way. "Stupid hormones." Ranger laughed.

"Babe." He said again before pulling me into a deep kiss. We pulled apart after a moment due to my stomach rumbling. Ranger smiled again and helped me off the seat. "Let's go get you something to eat," I blushed at his smile and swatted him.

"I'm eating for three you know! And I didn't get breakfast before I came here so nmmmm!" I stuck my tongue out at him and he just shook his head before grabbing my hand and gently leading me out of the room. I talked to Camille for a moment and she promised to send us a copy of our babies' first video and I promised I'd call her and Tina later before walking out the door with Ranger.

"What do you want?" I asked him as he drove us to the nearest fast food restaurant. He raised an eyebrow at me in response. "Not from here," I said, rolling my eyes as we got out of the truck, "Two boys? Two girls, one of each?" Personally, I didn't particularly want two girls. Girls were cute if they were from normal families but considering mine and Ranger's genes, girls would be dangerous. On the other hand, boys would be just as bad. I thought of two mini-Rangers and shuddered slightly. Maybe one of each.

"Don't know." He said calmly as he held the door open for me. The smell of salty fries and greasy hamburgers hit me hard and I gagged, clutching my stomach ever so slightly. Normally, I loved the smell of fast food but now it apparently made me feel like puking. Damn babies must have gotten Ranger's taste in meals. "Babe?" Ranger asked, slightly concerned. I shook my head.

"Can't eat here, nauseous." I told him, he nodded in understanding and closed the door. I pretended to ignore the slightly victorious look that flashed across his face. He could stuff it.

"Where do you want to go?" Ranger asked as soon as we had settled back into the car. I thought for a moment, rubbing my stomach absentmindedly. What did batbabies that apparently took after their father have to eat? I smiled as I told him. Ranger stared at me and I shooed him forward. I was hungry dammit and I didn't have time to care about what others thought.

We pulled into the Rangeman office half an hour later, Ranger shooting looks ranging from amusement to surprise at every bite I ate. Probably I shouldn't be eating in his car but I didn't particularly care. I was almost finished anyway. I continued eating as we walked into the apartment, only stopping when we reached the third floor and the merry men turned to stare at me.

"What?" I asked, slightly irritated. I was just freaking eating, what was the big deal? Most of the merry men looked away at that, Bobby being the fastest. I didn't blame him; his eyebrows were still growing in, after all. It was Lester that finally broke the silence.

"Bomber, what are _you _eating?" I looked down at the Styrofoam bowl in my hand. A large portion of green salad with ranch dressing and toppings was half finished inside. I smiled at them evilly. It was after all, the perfect time to break the news. They couldn't get much more shocked, after all.

"Substance for the batbabies," I told them, grinning. Several moments of silence, then…

"Excuse me?" Lester said as several people stared at me in shock and some with distinctive fear.

"Me and Ranger are having twins." There were several loud thuds around the room as the Rangeman digested the news. Ranger turned to me, amusement mixed with exasperation.

"That's nine, now babe." I smiled in response. And we had seven more months after this, too. Probably I could double that by the end of my pregnancy.

* * *

I hope you liked it. The salad idea was given to me by sapphireangel09 and she deserves all credit for the sheer brilliance of the idea. I'm sorry to anyone who might not have liked the whole crying Steph but I figured that at this point, everything just kind of ganged up on her. I also have the current standings for the gender of the battwins: 11 for batgirl and batboy, 5 for two batboys, and 4 for two batgirls. This will be the last chapter for voting, so anybody who wants to have a say, please review/vote now. Also anybody who has an idea like sapphireangel09, feel free to tell me. Next chapter will probably have more Scrog interaction because he's been quiet the past two chapters. Thank you for reading, I'm sorry for the really long wait and I will update as soon as possible.


	17. Arrangements

Warning: Another skip, sorry if I confused anyone, I just kind of wanted to get the ball rolling. Steph is around seven to eight months now.

* * *

I smiled to myself as I padded around the empty hall barefoot. The house was still new to me and more than a little frightening, but exciting as well. Ranger had wanted nothing shy of the best and had opted for a completely remodeled home. I had gawked and shied away from the cost but Ranger had paid for it without blinking an eye. Something that I had felt guilty about, up until he showed me the actual house and I fell in love with it. I still hated the idea of living in a house, especially with Ranger, it was, after all, much more permanent then shared apartment space, but I also liked the idea of a pseudo-conventional family.

Plus, he had agreed to allow me to do the babies' room exactly how I wanted it. That was where I was right now, pausing just slightly in front of the door, my bulging stomach just touching the door. I was now seven months pregnant twins, hormonal and huge, and couldn't wait for my children. I had gotten rid of most of my insecurities about raising them and about Ranger and now excitement had taken its place. I just couldn't wait for what my mother and sister had described as the best moment in their lives – holding their newborn child for the first time. Well, newborns for me.

I always came in here, every day. It was exciting to see the prepared room, just waiting for the batbabies, and since I was on maternity leave from the bail bonds office and no one was trying to kill me, it was really the only excitement I got. That and bed with Ranger, but that was a different thing altogether. The room was a neutral-gender shade of sunshine yellow with cartoon trees and birds painted in the background. The two cribs were cherry wood, as was the two dressers, and the changing table. There were boxes and stacks of clothing and baby supplies everywhere and I had only gotten through about a quarter of it. I figured I had another month or two before the babies came and another year before they would be interested in half the crap here, so why bother?

Besides, the part of my brain that handled excuses and denial, pointed out to the smaller rational part, I would be leaving soon which meant no time to sort through the extensive amounts of supplies that had swarmed in from the Burg and what I had come to call the Cuban Burg. A true pity. Not that I wouldn't have minded missing the stupid Lamaze classes my sister and mother had forced me into. I knew it was complete bullshit, as soon as the contractions started I would demand medicine and most likely lots of it, but I figured it was better to just go along with my family. After all, I hadn't gotten married and that alone had nearly given my mother a heart attack.

The alarm sounded for the door and I quickly made my way to the front hallway. Ranger stood there, torn between amusement and irritation. "Babe," he told me but I just stuck my tongue out. I had fought hard for the alarm system that beeped every time an outside door was open and it was staying, damn it. No more sneaking in, even if we lived together.

"You know the rules?" I asked as I grabbed my flip flops. Being almost to term when it was still hot out had its distinctive perks, one of which being shoes that I didn't have to bend down to wear. I would have been beyond embarrassed if I had to ask someone to lace my shoes every time I wanted to leave the house. Ranger nodded in silent agreement to my question. I hated the classes and the only thing worse would be if Ranger saw me in them. I would never live it down. So I forbade Ranger from stepping into the classroom and instead he would sit out in the front lobby with backup cars circling the parking lot. He was nothing but thorough, at least.

The drive was quick and silent, like most of ours. I didn't mind though, I didn't need to talk to Ranger to understand how he felt. He was still worried about Scrog of course and I was too. The idea that Scrog had evaded capture not only from the Rangeman but normal PD as well for violating his parole for this many months was terrifying. So was knowing that in another month or two, he could very easily be after my children as well as me. But Ranger was also, maybe not excited, but something similar for the twins. My guess was that he wanted boys, God knew he couldn't handle little me's, and like most men, was begrudgingly looking forward to teaching them all he knew.

The only difference being that while most fathers settled on teaching their boys to play catch, Ranger would most likely be teaching any son we had how to catch bullets with Kevlar vests. Which, with our combined genes, would probably be useful. Sadly.

"Have fun Babe." Ranger said with a small, amused grin as he parked the car and got out to take watch in the lobby of the family center. I glared at his back. The bastard knew I hated the stupid, pointless classes. I paddled into the room, smiling at all the other heavily pregnant women, one in particular. Jessica Graceland was another woman pregnant with twins who took the classes alone. Her husband was supposedly overly busy at his workplace and could never make it to a class. Lucky him. We were partners in the class and she had become quite a good friend.

"Hey Steph," she greeted with a warm smile as I sat beside her, "I'm doing some baby shopping after class today. Clothing and stuff, wanna go?" She asked me this question almost every time in the past month or so and I've unfortunately never been able to go. Always had something else to do or Ranger didn't want me out on my own. That and thanks to my family, I didn't particularly need any baby supplies at the moment.

"Maybe," I told her, unable to give a straight answer. I did sort of want to get out of the house for a bit and maybe if I promised Ranger to be good, he'd let me. There hadn't been any recent sightings of Scrog after all, and he could quite possibly be out of the Trenton area, at least for now. The class started and ended with minimal embarrassment and I had a blast making fun of the overly preppy, never-been pregnant teacher with Jessica. I had also made up my mind to finally take Jessica up on her offer. Ranger had to go on some skip tracing with Tank and the idea of staying at home and sorting through baby stuff wasn't appealing. No matter how cute some of the baby clothes were.

"Hey," I told her, "Let me go talk to my boyfriend outside and I'll see if I can swing some time with you this afternoon, alright?" Jessica smiled ecstatically and I wondered what it would be like to apparently always be alone. Her husband worked long hours accordingly and she didn't have family in the area.

"That would be great, Steph!" she squealed and I smiled. Some good one-on-one girl time would be great, especially with a girl as huge as I was. Ranger was waiting exactly where I'd left him, an impassive expression on his face as he watched us both approach. Jessica stiffened beside me, like always. Most likely she was scared shitless about his large figure. I had been when I first saw him, and still was at times. But that was almost always only when he was angry.

"Hey Ranger, you've met Jessica." Ranger inclined his head in greeting at the still stiffened Jessica before turning back to me, an unspoken question in his eyes. "She invited me to go shopping with her and I wondered if it would be okay? Just some baby things she needs to get." Ranger raised an eyebrow and folded his arms.

"It doesn't seem like we need much more baby things, babe." He told me. I could hear the flat no in his words and quickly thought of an excuse. Surprisingly, Jessica beat me to it.

"Come on, it's not like anything's going to happen. We are just going to the mall, I need some help picking out things and my husband's too busy with work. I promise I won't let her spend too much." Ranger seemed caught off guard by Jessica's suddenly warmer demeanor, not that anyone but I could tell. I took my chance.

I kissed him softly on the cheek and took the time to whisper in his ear, "I have the tracker in my purse, it'll be okay. I'll be home by dinner." I pulled away and said more clearly, "I won't buy anything, like Jess said, promise." I looked at him pleadingly and finally he relented.

"Fine, but I'll be watching you," he smiled as if it was a joke but I got the message. A Rangeman vehicle will be following me. I couldn't say whether I was annoyed or glad at the fact. I kissed Ranger one more time, for my benefit rather than Jessica's, and walked out to the parking lot.

Whatever Jessica's husband did most have made some considerable bank because she led me to a shiny black Porsche, same model as Ranger's, and beeped us in. I smiled at the familiar scent of the upholstery and slid into the passenger seat comfortably. Jessica slid in beside me and smiled brightly. "Ready for some fun?" She asked with a grin. For a moment I felt uncomfortable, akin to a quick tightening of my gut, but figured it was just the babies being rambunctious and ignored it.

"Yeah." I said, answering her smile with a grin of my own.

* * *

Sorry for the excessively long wait, my baby cousin's birthday is coming up and my aunt is working us all to the bone to get it all done. It's angry birds and it's gotten so extreme that my uncle actually made a life-size angry birds catapult for the kids to shoot "angry birds" at paper mache pigs on cardboard block so it's been really hectic. That and trying to write this chapter was surprisingly hard, I just couldn't figure out what angle i wanted this to go through. I actually rewrote it twice before this came out. Any ideas about Jessica? Also, twin genders have been established but I'm not going to tell you. You'll just have to wait, like Stephanie and Ranger. Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it. I will update again as soon as possible.


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